US sending mercenaries to Somalia

The US State Department has hired a major military contractor to help equip and provide logistical support to international peacekeepers in Somalia, giving the United States a significant role in the mission without assigning combat forces. DynCorp International, which also has US contracts in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, will be paid $10 million to help the first peacekeeping mission in Somalia in more than 10 years. The US has begun to depend more on African nations for oil and minerals, and wants to expand its influence. The State Department has committed $14 million for the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission to Somalia and has asked Congress for $40 million more. DynCorp's work force includes many former US troops. The Virginia-based mercenary firm had been contracted until April, said DynCorp spokesman Greg Lagana. "We have an overall contract for African peacekeeping, this is a specific task order for Somalia," he said. "But we are also present in Liberia and southern Sudan." DynCorp, whose services range from equipment maintenance to paramilitary security forces to training police, provided logistics for the UN peacekeeping mission in Somalia from 1992-95. It was not immediately clear if DynCorp employees would work inside Somalia under the new contract, signed three weeks ago. The company is working with the US Embassy in Ethiopia to help the AU create a standby military force to respond to emergencies, according to the company website. DynCorp, with annual revenues of over $2 billion, has held an umbrella State Department contract since 2004 for "peacekeeping, capacity enhancement and surveillance efforts" in Africa. The contract is valued at between $20 million $100 million, depending on the number of assignments. It's a potentially dangerous assignment. When the first 1,500 Ugandan peacekeepers arrived in Somalia's capital on Mar. 6, they were greeted with a mortar attack and a major firefight. At least a dozen mortar rounds sprayed the airport, disrupting a planned welcoming ceremony. The next day, attackers ambushed the peacekeepers in Mogadishu, setting off another gunfight. Street battles between insurgents and police followed and continued throughout the day. Witnesses claimed around 100 gunmen were involved and three civilians were reported to be dead. Many of the insurgents were carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers and were covering their faces. On Mar. 9, insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an AU convoy in Mogadishu. The attack missed its target, but killed at least nine Somalis in a restaurant. The mood is tense in the capital, with many shops and businesses shut and roadblocks preventing civilians moving about, especially in the south of Mogadishu. The AU force is taking over from Ethiopian troops who intervened to help the transitional government oust the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which had held power for six months. But violence has escalated in the past two months, with dozens of people being killed. There are currently several thousand Ethiopian troops inside Somalia. The presence of the AU forces is supposed to allow the Ethiopian troops, who are loathed by many Somalis, to leave the country. But AU member states have only pledged 4,000, fearing they will get sucked into a bloody conflict. Insurgents have vowed to attack foreign peacekeepers, and regional analysts and diplomats fear that the troops will be targeted regularly. Since mid-January, insurgents have carried out almost daily attacks against Somali government institutions and Ethiopian troops. Meanwhile, Somalia's neighbor Eritrea has warned of dire consequences unless Uganda pulls its peacekeeping troops out. Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu said that unless Uganda withdrew, the situation would be increasingly dangerous for the entire region. Abdu said the Ugandan troops would only worsen the situation. The deployment could prompt war between Somalis and external forces, he said. The minister accused Ethiopia of wanting to carve up the country. Abdu said Ethiopia was acting as a puppet of the United States, which provided intelligence and helped attack the UIC as they fled before the Ethiopian advance. A little over two months ago, US Special Forces fought alongside Ethiopian troops and waged punishing airstrikes on fleeing UIC members. Dozens of civilians and livestock were allegedly killed.