U.S. Hires Contractor to Back Somalis

A Ugandan soldier stands guard at Mogadishu airport after their arrival at Mogadishu airport Tuesday March 6, 2007. The first Ugandan peacekeepers arrived in Somalia's capital early Tuesday to provide protection for the still-struggling transitional government and to allow for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops who intervened in the country. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor) (Mohamed Sheikh Nor - AP)

Dyncorp is not the only U.S. security company working in Africa. Northrop Grumman Corp. has a similar contract, worth up to $75 million, to support the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program, which aims to train 40,000 African peacekeepers over five years.

KBR Inc., a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., provides services to at least three bases in Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia used by the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

The contracts come at a time when the Pentagon wants to develop closer relationships and provide greater military assistance to Africa.

A small number of U.S. Special Forces troops fought alongside Ethiopian troops in Somalia in December when they drove out a Somali extremist group that the U.S. has linked to al-Qaida, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the mission.

In January, U.S. Special Operations aircraft staged two airstrikes against suspected al-Qaida forces hiding inside Somalia, the official added.

The United States is not the only country seeking to provide private military services in Africa.

In 2005 the Somali government signed a $50 million contract with New York-based TopCat Marine Security to help create a coast guard to protect its coast and shipping from pirates. The State Department blocked TopCat from deploying because of a U.N. arms embargo, Hassan Abshir Farah, Somalia's marine resources minister said.

Farah said his government was now discussing a deal with the Chinese government and Chinese marine security firms.

____

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Donna Borak and Pauline Jelenik in Washington and Salad Duhul in Mogadishu, Somalia contributed to this report.