Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the government of Somalia to end its conflict with the Al-Shabaab Islamist insurgency.

As we seek to keep the UK and our interests at home and overseas safe from the threat of terrorism, tackling Al-Shabaab is one of our top counter-terrorism priorities. With international allies, regional partners, and with the Federal Government of Somalia and our international partners, we are pursuing a comprehensive effort to address the Al-Shabaab threat and the conditions through which Al-Shabaab has become entrenched in Somalia, as well as working with the new government in Somalia to improve governance, economic reform, security and justice, and humanitarian resilience in the country.

The UK continues to play an important role in strengthening Somalia's security capabilities and supporting the transition towards Somali-led security. The UK has provided training to the Somali National Army and Somali Police, and provided technical advice to civilian institutions to help improve operational effectiveness. As penholder at the UN we helped to secure authorisation for a reconfigured African Union Transition Mission in Somalia. We are supporting efforts to weaken Al-Shabaab and restrict its financial flows, including through UN sanctions.