President Joe Biden is set to resend U.S. troops to fight the Islamic insurgence group al-Shabab in Somalia, a reversal of former President Donald Trump's withdrawal of troops from the region.
"President Biden has approved a request from the secretary of defense to reestablish a persistent U.S. military presence in Somalia to enable a more effective fight against al-Shabab, which has increased in strength and poses a heightened threat," a senior administration official said in a statement, according to The Hill.
"This is a repositioning of forces already in theater who have traveled in and out of Somalia on an episodic basis since the previous administration made the decision to withdraw in January 2021," they added.
The Hill notes that the Biden administration official did not specify how many troops would be deployed or when, but officials reportedly told The New York Times that no more than 450 troops would be sent.
Trump, just before leaving office, made the order to withdraw the roughly 700 troops stationed in Somalia at the time, which were helping train local forces and conduct airstrikes to combat al-Shabaab.
The Wall Street Journal reported in March that the Pentagon was pushing Biden to redeploy troops to Somalia in order to keep al-Shabaab from spreading, saying that a lack of opposition could lead the group to grow stronger.
"If there continues to be no pressure on [al-Shabab], the concern would be that they would become a threat to the homeland," a senior U.S. intelligence official told the newspaper.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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