The Trump administration has ordered the withdrawal of most US troops from Somalia, a critical front in the fight against Al Qaeda and affiliated groups.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the US is repositioning its “presence and assets out of Somalia.”
“The President of the United States has ordered the Department of Defence and the United States Africa Command to reposition the majority of personnel and assets out of Somalia by early 2021,” the statement said.
The Pentagon reiterated its commitment “to our African partners and enduring support through a whole-of-government approach”, but noted that “some forces may be reassigned outside of East Africa.”
The US has around 700 troops in the country, a presence that has been maintained for over 13 years and is seen as critical to countering terrorist organisations. The forces also train an elite commando Somali unity to fight Al Qaeda and Al Shabab.
Additionally, China has expanded its influence in Somalia, investing in infrastructure plans and projects in agriculture, fishery and health.
Experts see Mr Trump’s withdrawal from Somalia as political, short-sighted and lacking strategy. “The US has a small footprint countering Al Shabab, the Al Qaeda affiliate most set on developing capabilities to attack, with no mission creep,” tweeted Katherine Zimmerman of the American Enterprise Institute.
Emily Estelle, a senior analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, sees the decision as potentially taking pressure off Al Shabab.
"The US deployment is keeping pressure on Al Shabab, an Al Qaeda affiliate that is determined to conduct international terror attacks," Ms Estelle told The National. She described the US mission in Somalia as "small and focused and particularly important at a time of great instability in Somalia and East Africa broadly."
Regarding the timing, Ms Estelle said it is tied to the Trump administration ending, but it is also part of the Pentagon’s re-evaluation of US posture in Africa. “The US deployment in the sub-Sahara, which supports a French counter-terrorism mission, is also being reviewed,” she added.
Cameron Hudson of the Atlantic Council described the move as “non-strategic”, especially with the rising threat from Al Shabab.
"It risks undoing whatever progress we have achieved in stabilising Somalia over the past decade or more and cedes ground to a terrorist force there that has attacked American nationals and interests in Kenya," Mr Hudson told The National.
“Coming at the same time that Ethiopia has already withdrawn many of its non-AMISOM (African Union Mission to Somalia) troops, which will only further weaken the central government’s authority in advance of federal elections early next year,” he added. Mr Hudson said the move more broadly put US interests in the Horn of Africa at risk.
According to The New York Times, US forces have trained and supported an elite 850-soldier Somali unit to fight Al Shabab and disrupt terror activities. The US designated Al Shabab as a foreign terrorist organisation in 2008 and has since carried out drone attacks against the group.
The announcement follows major changes that Mr Trump made at the Pentagon the past month, firing Defence Secretary Mark Esper and installing Acting Defence Secretary Chris Miller, who has now ordered partial withdrawals from Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.
Mr Trump promised during his campaign in 2016 to bring troops home. With 47 days left in office, these decisions appear to target his base, as he flirts with another run in 2024. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to review the US defence posture after he takes office on January 20.
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Kanye%20West
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RESULTS
Mumbai Indians 181-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata Knight Riders 168-6 (20ovs)
Mumbai won by 13 runs
Rajasthan Royals 152-9 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 155-4 (18.4 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%207%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Adam%20Yates%20(GBR)%20UAE%20Team%20Emirates%20%E2%80%93%203hrs%2029min%2042ses%3Cbr%3E2.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%20%E2%80%93%2010sec%3Cbr%3E3.%20Geoffrey%20Bouchard%20(FRA)%20AG2R%20Citroen%20Team%20%E2%80%93%2042sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeneral%20Classification%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lucas%20Plapp%20(AUS)%20Ineos%20Grenaders%20%E2%80%93%2059se%3Cbr%3E3.%20Adam%20Yates%20(GBR)%20UAE%20Team%20Emirates%20%E2%80%9360sec%3Cbr%3ERed%20Jersey%20(General%20Classification)%3A%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3EGreen%20Jersey%20(Points%20Classification)%3A%20Tim%20Merlier%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3EWhite%20Jersey%20(Young%20Rider%20Classification)%3A%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3EBlack%20Jersey%20(Intermediate%20Sprint%20Classification)%3A%20Edward%20Planckaert%20(FRA)%20Alpecin-Deceuninck%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
