US plans to send special forces to Somalia
WASHINGTON, United States – The United States could send a contingent of special forces to Somalia, it has been learned, more than eight months after the Defense Department repositioned more than 700 troops from the Horn of Africa nation which is struggling with instability.
Former President Donald Trump repositioned most US troops in Kenya and Djibouti as part of his long-term “cost reduction” plan, but failed to secure his seat, losing to Joe Biden, a Democrat. The United States has played a pivotal role in promoting stability in Somalia.
With information about the planned deployment of US troops in Somalia, the head of the US Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend did not directly confirm the information, but pledged to continue helping the nation of the Horn of Africa to combat violent extremism.
“It is truly undeniable that our rather sudden repositioning out of Somalia earlier this year introduced new layers of risk and complexity to our mission there,” said Townsend, perhaps in the strongest clue that the soldiers will come back. “What we’re trying to manage is this risk and this complexity.”
The New York Times reported that Biden had suggested that the Defense Department redeploy US troops to Somalia to help with Al-Shabaab’s war, but the request has yet to be approved. US troops were responsible for training and equipping Danab’s special forces.
Already, the United States has deployed special forces in northeastern Kenya where they will work closely with the Kenya Defense Forces. [KDF] by degrading the threat of Al-Shabaab. The troops started reporting as early as last week, according to military sources in Kenya.
According to Townsend, Al-Shabaab is “the largest, best-funded and most kinetically active branch of Al-Qaida.” “We see there threats to African stability. We see threats in Somalia to regional stability. We even see potential threats there to the American homeland.”
Al-Shabaab controls large swathes of rural areas in central and southern Somalia, but its capabilities have been significantly reduced due to military operations in the country. The group targets those suspected or accused of being American spies in the country.
“We have given our recommendations to our civilian leaders. And we are waiting for them to vote on those recommendations,” Townsend said. “Al-Shabaab still enjoys great freedom of action in the territory. We really feel the atmosphere of insecurity.
The Somali federal government asked the United States for help in the Al-Shabaab war, which lasted for nearly a decade. The activists collect taxes from residents and are determined to dethrone the fragile Somali administration backed by the UN.
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