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Reversing Trump, Biden acts to deploy US troops to Somalia

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order to deploy U.S. troops to Somalia amid heightened concerns about the country's Islamic extremist rebels, known as al-Shabab .
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People look at destroyed shops in Mogadishu's Lido beach, Somalia, Saturday, April, 23, 2022, after a bomb blast by Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels hit a popular seaside restaurant killing at least six people. Ambulance service officials say the explosion occurred Friday evening when many patrons gathered for an Iftar meal to break the Ramadan fast. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order to deploy U.S. troops to Somalia amid heightened concerns about the country's Islamic extremist rebels, known as al-Shabab. The move is a reversal of President Donald Trump's late-term decision to remove nearly all 700 Special Operator forces that had been operating there.

Biden's decision, confirmed by a senior administration official, comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requested the deployment “to reestablish a persistent U.S. military presence in Somalia to enable a more effective fight against al-Shabaab, which has increased in strength and poses a heightened threat.”

The official, who requested anonymity to discuss a decision that has been formally announced, said American forces already in the region would be repositioned.

Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press