20100719
Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States is studying ways to foment division among Somali rebels behind bombings in Uganda, without inflaming anti-foreigner feelings that could cause a closing of ranks, a U.S. official said on Monday.

The double blasts, claimed by al Shabaab Islamists, killed 73 people watching the World Cup final on July 11. The group had threatened to strike Uganda to punish it for its contribution to AMISOM, the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that allies of Somalia's interim government were discussing the possibility of allowing African peacekeeping troops to go on the offensive against the rebels in the wake of the explosions. At present they may use force only when attacked.

Asked what strategies the United States was using against extremist armed Islamist groups in Somalia, the official replied Washington would seek to divide them, although the task was delicate due to Somali sensitivities about foreign involvement.

"We know nothing galvanises Somalis like an outside influence...if we do something in an imprudent manner," the official said in a briefing for reporters in London.

"We are trying to figure out the best way to exploit any divisions. At the same time, to do that in an incorrect manner runs the risk of the exact opposite, which is to unite them."

Aside from its differences with other Islamist armed groups, al Shabaab itself is a patchwork of networks including foreigners who favour al Qaeda-style global attacks and more nationalistic Somalis, some analysts have said.

"Are they (al Shabaab) truly a Somali group at this point, or are they a puppet of an outside extremist group? It's a question we're looking at very closely," the official said.