Somalia’s prime minister ousted, cracks appear in puppet government
Minneapolis, MN – U.S. attempts to establish a stable puppet government in Somalia were dealt a new setback Dec. 2, when Somalia’s parliament voted to remove Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon. Shirdon, who was locked in power struggle with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, received a no-confidence vote from the Parliament.
Setbacks and defeats for the regime, along with corruption, have made the puppet government increasingly unstable.
Lacking popular support, the Somali regime rules limited areas of the country with the help of foreign troops and their Western backers. The African Union Mission in Somalia, which supplies troops from countries whose governments are closely tied with the West, provides the military muscle to keep the Somali regime in power.
In January of this year, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton underscored the importance of the U.S. role in Somalia, stating, “We provided more than $650 million in assistance to the African Union Mission in Somalia, more than $130 million to Somalia’s security forces.”
The U.S. special operation forces have carried out numerous attacks in Somalia and the country is often the target of drone warfare.