Barre Hiiraale can't offer you salvation, come join the great state.
Energy exploration has started mainly just south of the mountains, although the amount of estimated reserves is unknown, or at least not publicly divulged.
The Associated Press has determined through telephone and e-mail interviews with three insiders that training for an anti-piracy force of up to 1,050 men has already begun in Puntland, a semiautonomous region in northern Somalia that is believed to hold reserves of oil and gas.
Given that mix, the appearance of an unknown donor with deep pockets is troubling, said E.J. Hogendoorn, a Nairobi-based analyst with the International Crisis Group.
"If it's a company, there has to be a quid pro quo in terms of (oil and gas) concessions. If it's a government, they are interested in changing the balance of power."
Prosper declined to say how much the donor country has spent on the programs. Two Nairobi-based security analysts calculate it has already spent around $10 million on equipment, salaries and other costs.
The new force will be equipped with 120 new pickup trucks - which have already arrived - and six small aircraft for patrolling the coast, Farole said. No other force in Somalia, including the Mogadishu-based central government or African Union peacekeepers, has air assets.
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