“President Biden has approved a request from the Department of Defense to reposition US forces in East Africa in order to reestablish a small, persistent US military presence in Somalia,” the official said.
The order authorizes the United States to send hundreds of operators into Somalia to enable a more effective fight against Al-Shabaab, which the US believes is growing its ability to conduct external attacks, the official said.
US forces will engage in training local troops, turn intelligence into operations and conduct direct counterterrorism action when appropriate, the official said.
The US government has seen evidence that Al-Shabaab intends to target Americans in the region, the official said.
The US military presence in Somalia will consist of fewer than 500 personnel, down from approximately 750 prior to a winddown of troops under the Trump administration, the official said. The US does not plan to establish a permanent presence, the official also added.
28 December 2021, 22:14 GMT
Al-Shabab is a militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts that took over large portions of southern Somalia in 2006 before being dispersed by Somali and Ethiopian government forces, according to the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
The terror group has exerted and sometimes sustained control over strategic areas of Somalia, and is responsible for a number of suicide attacks, bombings, and assasinations across the country, DNI said in its Counter Terrorism Guide.
Despite the group’s ties to radical Islam, Al-Shabaab is not centralized or monolithic in its agenda, with most fighters being predominantly interested in battling the Somali federal government and not in global jihad, DNI added.
Somalia collapsed as a unified nation in 1991 with the downfall of Siad Barre’s regime. The international community recognized the federal government as the only legitimate authority in the country and controls the capital Mogadishu and several other areas. The rest of Somalia is controlled by unrecognized entities, including the self-declared Republic of Somaliland government in the north and the autonomous Puntland region in the east.
On Sunday, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who previously served as Somali President between 2012 and 2017, was once again elected to the position by legislators. The election was held amid security lockdowns intended to prevent terror attacks amid the political process.
The Biden administration has said it is confident in Mohamud's ability to continue coordination with the new leadership as they settle in, the official said.