With the urging of the Obama administration, the African Union has agreed to send 2,000 more troops to Somalia to fight Islamic militants. This will increase the number of African troops in Somalia to 8,000. US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson said the troops are needed to fight the Somali militant group Al-Shabab, which recently claimed responsibility for the twin bombings in Uganda.

Johnnie Carson: “There is no doubt there is a need for more troops on the ground. The IGAD president said this three weeks ago. The IGAD defense minister said it some time ago, as well. We believe that it’s necessary to have more troops on the ground, and we in Washington have committed ourselves to support additional troops on the ground in the same fashion that we have supported the existing Burundi and Ugandan troops.”