The United States is increasing its military assistance to Somalia as the country sees success in battling what the U.S. calls “the largest and most deadly al-Qaida network in the world, A USAF C-17 landed in Mogadishu, Somalia yesterday, delivering several hundred thousand rounds of Russian-made small arms ammunition for use by Somalia’s elite Danab brigade as well as the Somali National Army…
The C-17 (07-7187 callsign RCH327), flew from Charleston to Mogadishu beginning on Feb 25th. Despite not broadcasting its position after reaching the Meditteranean, ACARS messages show the plane landed in Djibouti before arriving at Mogadishu (HDAM->HDMM) yesterday.
The ammunition, manufactured by the Barnaul cartridge plant in Altai Krai, Russia appears to be 7.62 caliber rifle ammo, with some of it being blanks for training. The crates appeared to contain between 40-48 thousand rounds each for a total of several hundred thousand rounds.
the U.S. said in a statement of support for a historic Somalia-led military offensive against al-Shabab extremists that has recaptured dozens of communities since August.
