An administration official says Trump’s decision has been reversed because of “higher threats” from the rebels.
US President Joe Biden has agreed to send hundreds of troops back to Somalia, reversing a move by his predecessor Donald Trump towards the end of 2020, an administration official told reporters during a conference call on Monday.
Before Trump ordered the withdrawal of troops, about 700 U.S. military personnel helped the Somali authorities fight the al-Shabab rebel group with which al-Qaeda has ties. According to a Biden administration official, the White House has seen “Clear evidence“The Al-Shabaab fighters have”The intent and ability to target Americans in the region,And it has already killed more than a dozen U.S. citizens in East Africa.
Therefore, he explained, the president, following the advice of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, issued a “restoration order.”The U.S. military presence in Somalia to enable a more effective fight against al-Shabab, which has increased strength and created a higher threat.“
The official did not say exactly how many troops would be deployed in Somalia but said it would not exceed 500. He further added that instead of sending them directly from the United States, they would be repatriated from other parts of Africa.
The official also criticized the former president’s decision to withdraw troops.Against the senior advice of the US military leadership.“
Somalia was plunged into civil war in 1991, as groups that ousted the military government of General Mohamed Siad Barr clashed with each other. Early U.S. intervention to protect UN peacekeepers resulted in clashes with a warring factions and the October 1993 war in Mogadishu. The United States left Somalia in March 1995, returning only a decade later as part of a “war on terror.” ‘
Al-Shabaab, whose goal is to overthrow the government and impose sharia law on the country, has often carried out bombings across the country.
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