US Senator Rand Paul says Somali National Army has ties to Al-Qaida

Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and a member of the Senate Freedom Caucus has accused the Somali National Army of using child soldiers, terrorism and called them robbers. Senator Paul is calling for an end to end to US taxpayer money for Somali National Army.

In an interview with the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Senator Paul who is a fiscal conservative and a proponent of curbing US debt and spending said “There’s 920 instances of child soldiers, forcing children to fight. There’s evidence that some of these soldiers are parts of al-Qaida. There’s also evidence that some of these soldiers are nothing more than highway robbers,”.

“There’s 920 instances of child soldiers, forcing children to fight. There’s evidence that some of these soldiers are parts of al-Qaida. There’s also evidence that some of these soldiers are nothing more than highway robbers,”

Somalia’s government has been propped up by AMISOM troops and a cadre of JSOC special operators. Last Friday, an American Special Operations forces soldier was killed and four others were wounded in an attack near the town of Jamaame, a town in southwestern Somalia against fighters for the Islamic extremist group the Shabab, where the Special Forces where building a forward operating base. The Defense Department released the name and the identity of the deceased soldier as Staff Sergeant Alexander Conrad of the 3rd Special Forces Group based out Fort Bragg North Carolina.