The United States has resumed training and logistical support for Somalia’s elite Danab Brigade at the Ballidoogle airbase in the Lower Shabelle region, restarting a programme suspended following a ration-diversion scandal that surfaced in late 2023.
The resumption was marked by an inauguration ceremony for the 12th batch of Danab recruits. Somalia’s National Army (SNA) Land Forces Commander, General Sahal Abdullahi, attended alongside US military personnel and representatives from the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), the AU peacekeeping force that replaced the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) on 1 January 2025.
The Ration-Diversion Scandal
The pause in US support followed one of the more damaging accountability failures in the programme’s decade-long history. Somalia’s Defence Ministry confirmed that US-funded food rations intended for Danab troops had been diverted and resold on the open market.
Reports of the misappropriation first surfaced in December 2023, and the US government’s decision to end ration support took effect in June 2024.
Somalia’s government suspended and detained several unit members involved in the scandal. A US official told Reuters that Washington takes all corruption accusations seriously and was working with Danab to create “the necessary safeguards and accountability measures.”
The Somali Defence Ministry said it had arrested officers accused of involvement and was sharing investigation results with international partners. It was not an isolated episode: a similar black-market sale of food and fuel intended for soldiers led to a suspension of US aid as far back as 2017.
A Brigade Built for Urban Combat
The Danab Brigade was set up by personnel from Bancroft Global Development, a private military contractor funded through the US State Department, whose staff — many of them South African, British, and European — continue to train and mentor the unit. The brigade has become Somalia’s premier fighting force, specializing in complex urban operations against Al-Shabaab.
Danab, meaning “lightning” in Somali, has been at the forefront of Somalia’s counter-insurgency efforts. The unit receives advanced training in close-quarters combat, intelligence gathering, and rapid deployment tactics that distinguish it from conventional SNA forces.
Looking Forward
The resumption of US support is seen as critical for Somalia’s ongoing military campaign against Al-Shabaab, which continues to control significant portions of rural southern and central Somalia. The training programme is expected to produce hundreds of new commando-ready troops over the coming year, bolstering the SNA’s capacity to conduct independent offensive operations as AUSSOM forces begin their planned drawdown.
