Trump OKs offensive strikes in Somalia

U. S. troops to team with area forces in battle against al-Shabaab

President Donald Trump has approved new kinds of operations for the U.S. military in Somalia, the Pentagon said Thursday, setting the stage for a wider American role in the war there as U.S. troops team directly with Somali soldiers in offensive operations.

The authorization, approved Wednesday, is “consistent with our approach of developing capable Somali security forces and sup- porting regional partners in their efforts to combat al-Shabaab,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, referring to the al-Qaida-linked group.

U.S. troops will team with both the Somali military and the African Union Mission in Somali (AMISOM), a regional peacekeeping force that operates with approval from the United Nations.

“Somali and AMISOM forces have already achieved significant success in recapturing territory from al-Shabaab, and additional U.S. support will help them increase pressure on al-Shabaab and reduce the risk to our partner forces when they conduct operations,” Davis said. “We stand with the international community in supporting the Federal Government of Somalia as it strives to improve stability and security in Somalia.”

Previously, the United States carried out airstrikes in limited circumstances in Somalia, most commonly when there was an imminent threat to Americans on the ground. But senior U.S. military officials had sought leeway to approve strikes more quickly, including through the establishment of a zone south of Mogadishu that is considered an “area of active hostility.”

Trump signing off on the decision was first reported by the New York Times on Thursday. Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the chief of U.S. Africa Com- mand, acknowledged the Pentagon was seeking the additional authorities in a news conference last week. If Trump approved the decision, the general said at the time, it would allow the U.S. military to “prosecute targets in a more rapid fashion.”

But Waldhauser was quick to add that he did not want to turn Somalia into a “free-fire zone.”

“We have to make sure that the levels of certainty that have been there previously, those are not changed,” Waldhauser said of who the United States targets.