MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The United States will review support to a special forces unit it trains, funds and equips to fight the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab in Somalia, a US diplomat said on Tuesday, citing frustration over the elite force’s participation in offensive against Ahlu Sunnah fighters in the town of Guriel.
A diplomat at the United States embassy in Mogadishu told VOA Somali that they were aware of reports indicating Danab’s involvement in days of ferocious gun battle that has left dozens of people dead in the central Somalia town and the death of a senior military commander Abdiladif Fayfle, and other members of the elite force.
The comments of the US diplomat have come after a former regional minister said on Tuesday that the special forces had been secretly loaded on to planes from Bellidoogle airport and deployed in Guriel, accusing the army chief of turning focus away from the fight against Al-Shabaab.
At least 130 people have been killed with more than 600 others wounded in a four-day gun battle in Guriel. Among the dead are a number of US and Turkish trained special forces commanders and soldiers.
Fighting in Guriel has displaced more than 100,000 people, who are now in need of urgent assistance, according to the United Nations.
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