(3 minutes read) (Global: US)
President Joe Biden has ordered the reestablishment of a US troop presence in Somalia to help local authorities combat the Al-Shabaab militant group. This reverses an order from Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who in late 2020, pulled nearly all US forces from the East African nation.
President Joe Biden has ordered the reestablishment of a US troop presence in Somalia to help local authorities combat the Al-Shabaab militant group. This reverses an order from Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who in late 2020, pulled nearly all US forces from the East African nation. That move was a part of Trump’s policy for reducing US military engagements abroad during his final weeks in office.
Biden approved a request from the Defense Department to reposition US forces in East Africa to ensure a small persistent US military presence in Somalia. US military presence will be less than 500 troops in the East African country. Over 700 US troops were deployed in Somalia before conducting operations against Al-Shabaab. Trump removed them and rebased the troops in neighboring countries of Kenya and Djibouti. The US withdrawal, it is reported, has led to Al-Shabaab, the militant group, assuming more powers in the region.
By reinserting US troops, the US seeks to reduce the risks involved in back-and-forth mobilizations of forces that have been conducting counterterrorism operations inside Somalia.
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The decision to redeploy came immediately after the election of a new Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who took office after months of political instability. Somalia’s support for US cooperation in the fight against Islamist extremists has been a constant in recent years.
