In the fight against the Islamist Al-Shabab militia, the USA is again stationing hundreds of soldiers in the East African crisis-ridden country of Somalia.
US President Joe Biden approved a request by the US Department of Defense to re-establish a "small permanent troop presence" in the country, a government official in Washington said on Monday.
The plan is to send "less than 500" US soldiers who are already stationed in East Africa.
Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, had ordered the withdrawal of most of the US soldiers stationed in Somalia at the end of 2020 in his last weeks in office.
As a result, around 750 US soldiers left the country.
As a result, the US army continued to fight the Al-Shabab militia and trained Somali soldiers in the country.
However, US soldiers only traveled to Somalia for short stays.
Since then, the Al-Shabab militia has "unfortunately only gotten stronger," the US government official said.
In addition, the constant rotation of US soldiers and the associated entry and exit created an "unnecessary and increased risk".
Kirby: US soldiers 'not directly involved in combat operations'
US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby reiterated that US soldiers should remain "not directly involved in combat operations."
Instead, they are to “train, advise and equip” government troops.
He stressed that the announcement had little to do with the change of government in Somalia.
"We have successfully cooperated with the Somalis despite the changes in government," Kirby said, "and we are confident that we will continue to do so with the new government."
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was head of state from 2012 to 2017, was re-elected to office on Sunday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Mohamud and urged him to make "building security forces to prevent and counter terrorism" a priority.
The al-Shabab militia, which is allied with al-Qaeda, controls large rural areas in the East African country and regularly carries out attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.