An Army officer was charged this fall for trafficking firearms, at least three of which ended up in a house where

authorities found nearly 100 pounds of heroin laced with fentanyl, according to federal court documents.

FBI and ATF agents arrested 2nd Lt. Kofi Appiah-Mainoo, 30, along with his associate, James Hutchings, Jr., 38, in late

October. Federal charges were brought against the two men as part of an ongoing investigation into the trafficking of

firearms into the Washington, D.C. area.

Appiah was an armor officer stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, but is from the Maryland area, court filings show. He

was assigned to K Troop, 2nd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, which trains lieutenants as part of the Armor Basic

Officer Leaders Course.

A memo submitted to the court and signed by Appiah’s troop commander, Capt. Phillip Derosa, recommended he “remain

in federal custody until the date of his hearing, or when finally separated from the U.S. Army.”

That memo also called Appiah “an undisciplined soldier" unable to meet standards and one who “has proven to be a flight

risk with aggressive behavioral tendencies,” including publicly yelling and using profanity toward a fellow officer who

turned him in for cheating on coursework.

more:

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/01/10/armor-officer-charged-in-gun-trafficking-scheme-involving-4-million-in-heroin/

Al-Shabab, a terrorist group in East Africa with ties to al-Qaida, warned African forces partnering with U.S. troops that

America will abandon them like it did the Syrian Kurds, according to a message posted by the terror group following its

attack against Camp Simba in Manda Bay, Kenya.

The terror group launched an attack Jan. 5 on Manda Bay Airfield killing U.S. Army Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr., of Illinois, and

two contractors. Shabab also destroyed a number of contractor-operated civilian aircraft.

Al-Shabab said in a message that the raid on Camp Simba should “serve as a stern warning” for African forces that

“when the situation gets difficult” American troops will “abandon you" just as they did with the Syrian YPG after entangling

them in an “unwinnable war.”

The YPG, or the People’s Protection Units, is a Kurdish faction that fights under the larger umbrella of the U.S.-backed

Syrian Democratic Forces. Turkey believes the YPG is a terrorist organization and launched a military operation in

northern Syria to combat the group, just days after President Donald Trump ordered U.S. troops to withdraw from the

area near Syria’s border with Turkey.

There are still roughly 500-600 U.S. troops in Syria.

more:

https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2020/01/10/al-shabab-warns-us-partner-forces-in-africa-that-america-will-

abandon-them-like-it-did-syrian-kurds/