The US is assessing a proposal that is aimed at sending dozens of Special Forces trainers back to war-torn Somalia in a renewed effort to help the local forces combat the Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Shabaab.
US following the order of the former President Donald J. Trump had withdrawn nearly all 700 American troops from Somalia in January. Security experts had warned that the pullout came at the worst possible time for Somalia, as the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab extremist group improves its bomb-making skills and continues to attack military and civilian targets even in the capital, Mogadishu, and also at a time Somalia was set to hold a national election.
Since withdrawal of the US troops, nearly five months have passed since the United States has carried out any airstrikes in Somalia. The cessation and sudden pause of air incursions that were aimed at supporting Somali army troops now offering the Islamist Al-Shabaab opportunity to operate with little intervention.
According to senior American officials, a convergence of events in the Horn of Africa nation, including political infighting among factions and the withdrawal of most American troops, has certainly emboldened Al-Shabaab in the past several months and worsened what weak security existed in many parts of Somalia
Security experts note that Al-Shabaab has had more freedom to maneuver citing minimum air operations against the jihadist group. Thus, proponents of stepping up counterterrorism activities in Somalia say it is important for the United States to continue strikes on militants and to help train government forces to prevent their territory from becoming a haven for planning terrorist attacks. But some security analysts on the other hand have expressed pessimism about what could be accomplished there, citing Somalia’s entrenched political, economic, and security difficulties.
