Since the ascension into power of Trump as President of the United States in 2017, the Pentagon has confirmed that there has been expanded targeting at al Shabaab elements in Somalia. The same was due to a directive signed by Trump declaring parts of Somalia as “areas of active hostilities” which allows US troops on the ground in Somalia to increase the number of assaults against the militants.
In 2017, 34 air and drone strikes were carried out with Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked militant group, as the official target of most US drone strikes in Somalia. Its ultimate objective is to overthrow the government in Mogadishu and establish a new state in its place. Several African nations have been battling the armed group for over a decade, but Western nations, including the US, are now overtly leading the fight.
Reports have also indicated that there have been a number of civilian casualties from the US-Led operation which were not there before the assertive action from the Trump administration.
The increased ground and airstrikes against the al Shabaab has been indirectly linked to the sporadic increase of attacks from the al Shabaab indiscriminately against civilian and military targets. The al Shabaab have seemingly increased the number of attacks on civilian targets to instill fear and a desperate attempt to prove that they have not been defeated even with the killings and defections of top commanders.
