US officials say President Joe Biden has signed an order allowing hundreds of special operations forces to be redeployed to Somalia, more than a year after his predecessor Donald Trump ordered them to be withdrawn.
Reuters quoted a senior official in the US administration - who asked not to be named - that "President Biden agreed to a request from the Secretary of Defense to re-establish a continuing US military presence in Somalia so that the battle against Al-Shabab would be more effective."
The US official explained that "this is a redeployment of forces already present in the theater of operations, entering and leaving Somalia from time to time since the previous administration made its decision to withdraw."
Prior to Trump's decision to withdraw troops, the United States had about 700 troops in Somalia focused on helping local forces defeat the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab carries out bombings and attacks from time to time in Mogadishu and other areas as part of its war on the central government there.
Although the United States has not had troops inside Somalia since Trump ordered their withdrawal in December 2020, the U.S. military has carried out occasional strikes there and has forces in neighboring countries.
Biden's decision to redeploy those forces coincides with the election of former Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as president after he overcame outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo in the third round of voting in Parliament.
The United Nations-backed presidential vote has been delayed for more than a year due to wrangling within the government, but it was necessary to hold elections in May to ensure the continuation of a $400 million International Monetary Fund funding program for Somalia.