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Reversing Trump, Biden deploys US troops to Somalia

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)
by: WRTV Staff
Posted: / Updated:

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 had requested the deployment.

Austin had said it was needed “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 announcement comes as Somalia elected a new president over the weekend — Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Mohamud returns to power after serving as president from 2012-17.

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