US boosts army presence off coast of Somalia to relocate 700 troops

The Pentagon is boosting its armed service existence off the coast of Somalia as the U.S. prepares to shift about 700 troops from the region to other areas of Africa.

The U.S. has despatched an aircraft carrier team and a Marine expeditionary unit for positioning off the Somali coast. The Makin Island Amphibious Completely ready Team and 15th Marine Expeditionary Device, manufactured up of approximately 5,000 sailors and Marines, arrived there to “conduct maritime protection functions,” U.S. Africom mentioned in a statement on Tuesday.

The maritime existence is section of a new mission regarded as Operation Octave Quartz — the repositioning of forces from Somalia to other East Africa places — following President TrumpDonald TrumpMcConnell: Senate to return Dec. 29 for prospective Trump veto override vote Congress passes .3T coronavirus aid, federal government funding deal No. 2 GOP senator: Efforts to overturn election would ‘go down like a shot dog’ Extra’s buy before this month to withdraw most of the around 700 troops stationed in the nation by early upcoming 12 months.

The arrival of the excess vessels and their “significant battle capability demonstrates our resolve to help our companions and guard our forces by way of this changeover,” Joint Process Pressure-Quartz head Air Pressure Maj. Gen. Dagvin Anderson claimed in the statement.

“This is a wonderful instance of how the United States can quickly combination battle electrical power to react to rising concerns. We will glimpse to leverage this inherent overall flexibility of the U.S. armed forces in guidance of our long term engagements in East Africa,” he extra.

The USS Hershel “Woody” Williams has moved into the area for the mission, along with the Nimitz plane carrier and its carrier strike team.

Africom head Gen. Stephen Townsend reported very last 7 days that U.S. forces departing Somalia will transfer to other bases in East Africa, though he did not specify their places.

“To be very clear, the U.S. is not withdrawing or disengaging from East Africa. We keep on being committed to supporting our African partners build a additional safe upcoming,” Townsend said in a statement Saturday.

U.S. forces have been stationed in Somalia for more than a decade to aid regional forces fight extremist teams including al Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab and, a lot more not long ago, ISIS militants in the region. American troops have qualified and assisted area safety forces in addition to conducting airstrikes.