US to have Africa military command
The move reflects increasing US strategic interest in the resource-rich continent.
‘Following the oil’
US military in Africa |
Djibouti – More than 1,500 US troops have been based in Camp Lemonier, in Djibouti, a tiny Horn of Africa nation since 2002. In 2006 the military said it would expand Camp Lemonier from its present 88 acres to more than 600. Djibouti is the centre of US operations in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia – US troops and diplomats are believed have worked closely with the Ethiopian army which recently helped the Somali government defeat the Islamic Courts Union in early 2007. Egypt – The US supplies the Egyptian army with over $1 billion of military equipment annually. Two US battalions are also stationed in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula as a part of a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. Somaliland – In 2005 a detachment of US troops reportedly landed in Somaliland, a break-away region of Somalia, to search for members of Al-Qaeda. Elsewhere in Africa – US troops have also helped train anti-terrorism forces of Algeria, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda amongst others. |
Hu Jintao, the Chinese president has been on a seven country tour of the continent, during which he has pledged to write off $70 million worth of Sudanese debt.
Josh Rushing, Al Jazeera’s military analyst, told the Inside Story programme that Africa Command came down to simply “following the oil”.
Meanwhile on the same programme Salim Lone an international affairs analyst and a former UN spokesman, lamented the planned US military intervention.
“Finally an engagement has been made with Africa but a military one,” he said.
Referring to the growing Chinese presence in the continetn, Lone said: “If the Chinese giving aid [to Africa] is ‘colonisation’ then what is Africa Command?”
“If the Chinese giving aid is ‘colonisation’ then what is Africa Command?”
Salim Lone |
US forces also carried out at least two air strikes in Somalia last month, targeting al-Qaeda fighters.