US official: No results after $3.2bn spent restoring Somalia’s security

A Somali security force member looks on at the scene of a suicide car bomb blast on August 30, 2016 in Mogadishu [MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB/AFP via Getty Images]

The Acting Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Ambassador Cherith Norman Chalet, said her country had spent nearly $3.5 billion to restore Somalia’s security over the past two decades, without achieving any results.

Norman added that the US continues to use airstrikes to target the leaders of Al-Shabaab movement, but military operations alone will not lead to victory over the terrorists.

The American Forces Africa Command explained in a report that it had launched 46 airstrikes against Al-Shabaab this year alone.

The United States expressed concern that taxes paid by local parties, including commercial establishments, to Al-Shabab are being used to launch attacks against the government.

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