Germany has announced it will be sending five missile boats to join the growing German navy and paratroopers force in the horn of Africa. The ships are the “Falke", "Bussard", "Hyäne", "Gepard" and "Puma". They are fast attack craft, each armed with cannon and long-range missiles, and capable of operating at high speeds.
The additional German warships are being shipped to the region on special civilian cargo boats, which are carrying them aboard their decks from the German port at Wilhelmshaven. German frigates “Schife” and “Bavaria” are already making their way independently to the Horn of Africa region.
The German Army has announced that starting from the end of January, the German naval force of twelve warships will take part in "counter-terrorism operations" in the Horn of Africa area, which includes Yemen, Sudan and Somalia, all accused by the USA of harboring al-Qaeda networks.
In addition to ships, German ground troops are also being sent to Djibouti. A German military delegation arrived in December for talks with top Djibouti officials. At the time, IRIN reported that the 17 member military delegation was in the country to "set up a base camp for German naval forces participating in the fight against global terrorism".
Subsequently, six hundred German paratroops have deployed to Djibouti in the past week, officially for training purposes, although it remains to be seen what it is they are training for. (www.albawaba.com)
