US decision to withdraw troops dismays some Somalis

ADDIS ABABA (Ethiopia) • Mr Donald Trump's decision to pull US troops out of Somalia in the waning days of his presidency has triggered dismay from some Somalis, who appealed to the incoming US president to reverse the decision.

"The US decision to pull troops out of Somalia at this critical stage in the successful fight against Al-Shabaab and their global terrorist network is extremely regrettable," Senator Ayub Ismail Yusuf told Reuters yesterday in a statement, referring to the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab insurgency.

"US troops have made a huge contribution and had great impact on the training and operational effectiveness of Somali soldiers," said Mr Yusuf, a member of Somalia's Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

He tagged US President-elect Joe Biden in a tweet criticising Mr Trump's decision on Friday.

The Somali government could not be reached for comment yesterday on the US move to withdraw almost all its roughly 700 troops from the country by Jan 15.

The withdrawal from Somalia followed Mr Trump's orders to reduce the American presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, and reflected his long-standing desire to end long-running military engagements against Islamic insurgencies in failed and fragile countries in Africa and the Middle East, a grinding mission that has spread since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.

But the Pentagon, in announcing the pullout, stressed that the US "is not withdrawing or disengaging from Africa".

It said: "We remain committed to our African partners and enduring support through a whole-of-government approach."

Somalia's fragile internationally backed government is due to hold parliamentary elections this month and national elections in early February, a precursor to the planned drawdown of the 17,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force.

US troops in Somalia have mostly been supporting Somali special forces known as Danab in operations against Al-Shabaab, whose attacks in nations like Kenya and Uganda have killed hundreds of civilians, including Americans.

Danab punches above its weight because regular forces are often poorly trained and equipped, frequently desert their posts or become enmeshed in power struggles between the national and regional governments.

If the withdrawal is permanent, "it will have a huge toll on counter-terrorism efforts", said Colonel Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh, who served for three years until 2019 as the Danab commander.

He fought alongside US forces, he said, adding that during his command, two Americans and more than a hundred of his own men had died. Both US and Somali forces are opposed to the withdrawal, he said.

The US programme to expand Danab to 3,000 men was supposed to continue until 2027, Col Sheikh said, but its future is unclear.

Air strikes will likely continue from bases in Kenya and Djibouti, which could also provide a launchpad for cross-border operations. Rights group Amnesty International says the air strikes have killed at least 16 civilians in the past three years.

The US withdrawal comes at a turbulent time in the region.

Ethiopia, which is a major troop contributor to the peacekeeping forces and has thousands more troops in Somalia bilaterally, is distracted by an internal conflict that broke out last month. It has already disarmed hundreds of its peacekeepers in Somalia.

Somalia has been riven by civil war since 1991, but the entry of the peacekeeping force in 2008 helped incubate fledgling government structures that allowed for gradual reforms of the military, such as a biometric system to pay soldiers and the formation of Danab.

But many problems with the Somali military remain, including corruption and political interference. Perhaps a withdrawal of US forces will force Somalia to confront them, said Col Sheikh. Or perhaps it will make them worse.

REUTERS, NYTIMES