US forces pack up in Somalia for elsewhere in East Africa

[Deeq A.]

U.S. troops who are pulling out of Somalia aren’t leaving the continent, or even the region, the general who leads U.S. Africa Command warned local militants in a statement this weekend.

The plan is to send those Americans to other bases in East Africa, which could include Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti or Manda Bay in Kenya, though AFRICOM boss Army Gen. Stephen Townsend did not elaborate on the location.

The Pentagon announced Dec. 4 that President Donald Trump ordered AFRICOM to reposition the majority of personnel and assets out of Somalia by early 2021. The U.S. mission in Somalia has involved airstrikes and nurturing local forces — especially Danab light infantry — to combat the jihadist group al-Shabab.

“To be clear, the U.S. is not withdrawing or disengaging from East Africa,” Townsend wrote in the statement. “We remain committed to helping our African partners build a more secure future. We also remain capable of striking Al-Shabaab at the time and place of our choosing — they should not test us.”

There are approximately 700 U.S. troops in Somalia, including special operations forces and conventional troops who provide security at forward outposts like Baledogle Airfield, which has faced brief, but complex attacks before.

Townsend said he directed the activation of a joint task force, JTF-Quartz, built around the headquarters of Special Operations Command-Africa, to oversee the repositioning of U.S. forces, which he called Operation Octave Quartz.

“JTF-Quartz is commanded by the SOCAF commander, Maj. Gen. Dag Anderson,” Townsend said. “I have just returned from visiting him at his forward headquarters in East Africa, where I met with Dag and his commanders to review their posture and plans. JTF-Quartz is ready to go.”

 U.S. troops in Somalia periodically find themselves engaged in combat, including a May 9 attack on U.S. soldiers assigned to a coordination cell in Mogadishu, Somalia, officials previously told Army Times. Seven soldiers received combat action badges following that attack.

Numbers provided by AFRICOM’s Army component show that 160 combat badges were approved in fiscal 2020. About two-thirds of those were from a large attack on Baledogle Airfield in late September 2019.

Not all combat incidents involving Somalia militants take place in Somalia, however. A Jan. 5 attack by al-Shabab on Manda Bay in Kenya claimed the lives of one U.S. soldier and two Pentagon contractors.

After the incident, AFRICOM dispatched soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, assigned to the East Africa Response Force, to reinforce Manda Bay and help build better defensive positions.

The mission in Somalia also involves U.S. intelligence agencies and contractors. One CIA officer was killed in combat this November, the details of which remain ambiguous, and contractors from Bancroft Global Development have been used to recruit and train Danab light infantry.

Source: ArmyTimes

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