The head of the United States Africa Command (Africom) has indicated that Pentagon will not step up the US combat role in Somalia.Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser told reporters in a conference that the dozens of additional American soldiers being sent to Somalia are “logisticians” rather than infantry troops.
This “long-scheduled deployment” is primarily intended to help to train Somali forces to become more effective in fighting Al-Shabaab, said Gen Waldhauser. He also disputed media reports that the [Donald] Trump administration has “loosened rules for authority to strike” Al-Shabaab targets.
He said the US command has been given “a little more authority to strike” in order to assist the African Union Mission in Somalia and Somali forces in missions that they are unable to carry out on their own, said the officer.
Any US strikes are carried out in conjunction with the Somali Government, he emphasised, adding that Africom is “going to great lengths to ensure” that civilian casualties do not occur when it does launch attacks.