Donors including Britain, the US and the UAE have grown increasingly frustrated with the Somali National Army (SNA)

The Times

Donors including Britain, the US and the UAE want to divert resources to regional forces, which they believe will better fight al-Shabaab militantsMOHAMED DAHIR/GETTY IMAGES

British soldiers bound for east Africa in a deployment announced by Theresa May at the United Nations this week will be at the vanguard of a risky plan to sideline Somalia’s army and boost local militias to fight Islamic terrorists.

Donors including Britain, the US and the UAE have grown increasingly frustrated with the Somali National Army (SNA), which is “nowhere near ready” to take over from African Union forces despite four years of funds and training.

Frustrated by corrupt communist-era generals, donors want to divert resources to regional forces, known as dervishes, which they believe will better fight al-Shabaab…

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