Biden reestablishes US troop presence inside Somalia

President Joe Biden has ordered the reestablishment of a US force presence in Somalia to assist local authorities in combating the Al-Shabaab insurgent group, A senior American official told reporters Monday

Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, had ordered the withdrawal of nearly all US personnel from the East African country in late 2020 as he moved to wind down US military deployments abroad during his final weeks in office.

Biden “approved a request from the Defense Department to reposition US forces in East Africa in order to reestablish a small persistent US military presence in Somalia,” the official said.

Fewer than 500 troops will be involved, the official said, adding that it will “take a little bit of time to reach that” level in Somalia.

That is slightly smaller than the original footprint of 700 who spent years in country conducting operations against Al-Shabaab, but were then removed under Trump and rebased in neighboring countries Kenya and Djibouti.

The previous administration directed the withdrawal from Somalia “against the advice of senior US military leadership,” and “since then Al-Shabaab… has unfortunately only grown stronger,” the official added.

By reinserting US troops, Washington will reduce the risks involved in back-and-forth mobilizations of forces that have been conducting counterterrorism operations inside Somalia.

The move would boost efficiency and the effectiveness of special operators and allow for uninterrupted training periods with local partners.

While calling the militant threat in Somalia “quite concerning,” the official did not rule out US forces directly taking on Al-Shabaab.

“We do continue to look to at least the potential of direct US counterterrorism operations, where we think those are called for by the threat and where we think it’s appropriate.”

The decision to reinsert soldiers, according to the person, had more to do with US troop safety than with the election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, a new Somali president who takes office after months of political uncertainty.

The official added that Somalia’s support for US collaboration in the battle against Islamist extremists has been consistent in previous years, and that Washington was confident in such backing from the new Mogadishu administration.