Top US general calls out Houthi-Shabaab ties across Yemen-Somalia strait
The Pentagon has opened the aperture on al-Shabaab in recent months, allowing AFRICOM to ramp up strikes on the al-Qaeda offshoot in the Horn of Africa.
WASHINGTON — The top US military commander for Africa sought to highlight links between al-Qaeda’s Somali offshoot, al-Shabaab, and the Houthi rebels in nearby Yemen during an appeal to Senate lawmakers on Thursday.
US Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, who leads US AFRICOM, told the Senate’s influential Armed Services Committee that the Somali group is “a heightened terrorist threat, namely because they're colluding with the Houthis” across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
For the record: In a written statement submitted to lawmakers, Langley testified that he is “greatly concerned about indications of Houthi … and al-Shabaab collaboration,” but he made no mention of what those indications were.
“The Houthis have the capability to attack the Djibouti Base Cluster, should they decide to escalate against the United States. If they establish a foothold in East Africa, the threat to global trade and shipping would increase significantly,” Langley’s statement read.
