Djibouti lends military hand to Somalia

The tiny African country of Djibouti said it was sending around 850 soldiers to help African Union peacekeepers in Somalia. Somalia said it wanted the help of major military powers like the United States as it struggled to gain leverage against al-Shabaab militants, who at one point controlled most of Mogadishu. Troops from Djibouti will join the 9,000 members of the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The African Union aims to roughly double the number of troops backing the Somali government. "Our forces have been very adaptive, adapting to the terrain, fighting in built-up areas," AU Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, a spokesman for the peacekeeping force, was quoted by The New York Times as saying. "But it's been difficult." Kenya launched a recent military offensive against al-Qaida affiliated al-Shabaab recently because of a spat of kidnappings along its northern border. The French navy struck several rebel positions inside Somalia in October. Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, a spokesman for Kenya's armed forces, was quoted by Times as saying "one of the partners," which the Times said was a reference to U.S. or French militaries, was behind recent airstrikes in Somalia. The Times adds that French forces launched covert strikes in Somalia in the past with the aim of attacking militant or piracy groups active in the region.