How U.S. cuts in Somalia could imperil the fight against al-Shabab

Turkish officials did not respond to requests for comment. Electoral cycles in Somalia routinely interfere with operations against al-Shabab, which is skilled at exploiting clan divisions. Morale within Danab is “not that high,” according to one Mogadishu-based security expert who works with the Somali military. Danab is the only Somali military unit that can request American airstrikes, and it benefited from dozens of U.S. interventions last year. An April 16 U.S. airstrike on two unflagged vessels off the Somali coast hit a shipment of surface-to-air missiles from Yemen, according to a senior Somali security official.