Trump orders the withdrawal of most US troops from Somalia

Trump orders the withdrawal of most US troops from Somalia

US President-elect Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of nearly all US troops from Somalia. The Pentagon announced on Friday that most of the soldiers stationed there should leave the East African country in early 2021. The Defense Ministry did not provide figures on the current and future strength of the troops. According to the US media, around 700 US soldiers are currently stationed in Somalia.

Until now, the United States has been supporting the Somali government and local security forces in the fight against the Sunni terror group Al-Shabaab. The group has been fighting for supremacy in the Horn of Africa country for years and controls much of the center and south.

Some soldiers could be relocated to countries outside of East Africa as part of the decision, the Pentagon said. However, the remainder is said to be destined for neighboring Somalia to keep up the pressure on violent extremist organizations. The United States is not withdrawing from Africa, the Pentagon stressed.

Trump emerged as the loser in the presidential election against Democrat Joe Biden in early November. In the weeks that remain, the president-elect is reorganizing the deployment of US troops abroad, which he criticizes. In mid-November, he announced that he would reduce the number of soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq to around 2,500 each by January 15. The partial recall would be implemented immediately prior to Biden’s planned inauguration on January 20.

Somalia’s withdrawal order comes a week after a historic troop visit by Pentagon executive Christopher Miller, who has only been in office for a few weeks. On the occasion of the American holiday of Thanksgiving, he traveled to Mogadishu. A United States Secretary of Defense had never visited the Horn of Africa country before.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the soldiers will be relocated from Somalia to Kenya and Djibouti. “The United States will continue to be able to carry out targeted counterterrorism operations in Somalia,” the Pentagon declared. Additionally, evidence of threats to the US could continue to be collected (sda / dpa)