US Africa Command digs in, plans to give more aid to Amisom

He ruled out direct US military involvement in Somala on the grounds that it would represent “an irritant and a distraction.”

The US is also worried about the presence of Al Qaeda and other militant Islamist groups in the trans-Sahara region.

The instability they breed there as well as in East Africa can lead to “attacks against US persons and interests around the world, or, in the worst case, against the US homeland,” Gen Ward warned last week.

In his speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the general depicted Africom as a force for stability and good governance in Africa.

He said its purpose is to help African leaders achieve their stated aim of developing “self-sustaining, accountable” security forces in their countries.

Gen Ward added that Africom’s long-term commitment to assisting African forces will be implemented “on an African, not an American, time-line.”

Some analysts argue that Africom’s main aim is to help secure the oil and gas supplies that the United States relies on receiving from Africa.