The United States Army has completed pulling out of war ravaged Somalia. The Pullout was ordered by outgoing President Donald Trump. Approximately 800 US Army troops were stationed in Somalia and only a handful have been left behind. During the pullout, USAFRICOM conducted 3 Drone strikes targeting enemy combatants in support operations.
The Pullout came as the fragile country stares at a possible collapse, humanitarian crisis, and insecurity all factored by a bitterly contested election process. The exit of the Americans leaves a huge security gap and experts warn Shabaab will exploit it. The exit will certainly have significant negative impact on counter terrorism efforts by the Somali Security Forces.
The bulk of the troops have been repositioned in Manda Bay in neighboring Kenya. They were welcomed by General Townsend from the US Africa Command, Sunday 17th January 2021. Manda Bay has been heavily fortified after the January 5th 2020 raid by the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab Mujahideen.
The US Army will continue engaging with the Somali Security Forces in countering the extremists, however, the bulwark of operations will be coordinated from outside Somalia, particularly Kenya while drone strikes will continue from Djibouti and maybe closer home for efficacy.
