Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has delivered maritime security
vessels to Djibouti.

The U.S. State Department has supplied two high-speed aluminum coastal
security boats to the Djiboutian Navy. Officials said the boats would
enhance Djibouti’s maritime security capabilities as well as border
security.

“The center of gravity of the Djiboutian economy is the sea, so Navy
capability to protect our nation is critical in safeguarding our common
interests of protecting the liberty and the life of Djibouti and America,”
Djibouti Navy deputy commander Lt. Col. Ahmed Daher said.

The U.S. military has established a presence in Djibouti meant to
monitor the Horn of Africa. Officials said the military used Djibouti to
facilitate a presence in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

“Djibouti is a key partner in the region,” U.S. Army Maj. Joseph Guido,
security cooperation chief at the U.S. embassy, said. “They’re in kind of a
difficult neighborhood with Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen being neighbors, and
it is critical Djibouti has the capacity it needs to effectively control its
borders.”

In a statement on April 18, the U.S. military’s Africa Command
identified the new vessels as the Metal Shark-28, deemed an advanced naval
platform. The U.S. program also included training that would enable Djibouti
to conduct surveillance for 100 nautical miles, including the Bab El Mandeb
Strait.

“Indeed, with the radar surveillance system and the acquisition of the
fast patrol boats provided by the United States, these two stars will
strengthen our actions, interventions and identifications of suspicious
activity,” Djibouti Navy commander Col. Abdul Rahman Aden Cher said.

  Gulf of Aden, Lt. Col. Ahmed Daher, Maj. Joseph Guido, Red Sea, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. sends fast patrol boats to Djibouti