On orders from President Donald Trump, most of the 700 or so US troops currently in Somalia will either withdraw entirely or be moved to nearby countries by early 2021, the Defense Department has confirmed in a statement.
“The President of the United States has ordered the Department of Defense and the United States Africa Command to reposition the majority of personnel and assets out of Somalia by early 2021,” the Pentagon said on Friday, after the Wall Street Journal broke the news.
NEWS: President Trump ordered the Pentagon to pull nearly all U.S. troops out of Somalia, two U.S. officials said. https://t.co/vbFNbLxhGG
— Ben Pershing (@benpershing) December 4, 2020
It is unclear how many troops will come home, and how many will move to nearby Kenya and Djibouti and continue to venture into Somalia as part of the struggle against the terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
“The forces re-positioning from Somalia are moving to partner countries elsewhere in the region to accomplish their missions,” a spokesman for US Africa Command (AFRICOM) told Fox News’ Pentagon correspondent. “The US military is not withdrawing from East Africa.”
“The forces re-positioning from Somalia are moving to partner countries elsewhere in the region to accomplish their missions,” U.S. Africa Command spokesman says. “The U.S. military is not withdrawing from East Africa.”
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) December 4, 2020
US troops have operated in Somalia for the past 13 years as part of the war on terrorism, seeking to prop up the government in Mogadishu against the al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab and later groups that pledged fealty to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). (RT)
