Word: berbera
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...fleet also regularly puts into ports in the Congo (Brazzaville) and Equatorial Guinea. On the east coast of the continent, Soviet planes and warships use bases in Somalia from which they patrol the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Hormuz, which leads to the oil-rich Persian Gulf. At Berbera the Soviets are completing a sophisticated installation capable of maintaining and arming lethal ship-to-ship missiles...
...most important aspect of the Soviet presence, however, is the missile facility now under construction at Berbera -a project that the Somalis as well as the Soviets have steadfastly denied. To be sure, Berbera has no silos or concrete launching pads for ballistic missiles. But it will definitely have major installations designed to maintain, arm and fuel ship-to-ship missiles with a range of 30 miles. It will also be capable of handling mobile ground-to-air missiles. Among the facilities under construction: three 1,000-ft.-long bunkers for storing missiles, a center for arming Soviet ship...
Both the Somalis and the Russians at Berbera appeared surprised last week by the zeal of Senator Bartlett and the Pentagon specialists who accompanied him. .After landing in 110° heat on a bumpy dirt runway, they set off immediately to inspect the area. A U.S. technician scrambled atop one of nine newly built fuel-storage tanks and whipped out binoculars for a better view. Another sifted through refuse in a men's room at the port, looking for Soviet cigarette butts. The Russians at Berbera, of whom there may be as many as 1,000, were obviously under...
...missile installations at Berbera are only the tip of the Soviet iceberg on the hot horn of Africa. Over the past several years, the Russians have transformed Somalia's 17,000-man armed forces into some of the strongest on the continent. Of the 3,000 or so Russians in Somalia today, fully 1,400 are assigned to the army and air force. The Somali army, less than half the size of neighboring Ethiopia's, now has far superior firepower-and the largest tank force south of the Sahara. The air force boasts a squadron of Ilyushin...
What is the significance of the Soviet foothold in Somalia? From their headquarters at Berbera, the Russians would have the capability of dominating the southern approach to the Suez Canal. With missile-equipped naval vessels they could harass the sea lanes around the Persian Gulf, easily attaining naval dominance over large stretches of the Indian Ocean. On the other hand...