Biden authorizes US military to redeploy troops to Somalia

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US President Joe Biden has signed into law an order authorizing his military to once again send hundreds of spec-ops into Somalia, the New York Times reported Monday, citing four officials familiar with the matter.

Somalia has been a victim of US airstrikes and violence since 2007, with consecutive US administrations launching bloody campaigns against the North African Arab nation in a war that claimed the lives of many innocent civilians.

Biden also approved a request from the Defense Department for standing authority to target suspected leaders of Al Shabab terrorists, the officials added.

Biden signed off on the proposal submitted by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in early May, the officials revealed, with National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson confirming the move.

She claimed that the action would enable a "more effective fight against Al Shabab" and that the decision for the US to bolster its persistent presence was taken to "maximize the safety and effectiveness of our forces and enable them to provide more efficient support to our partners."

Though Watson did not indicate the number of troops the military would deploy, two people familiar with the matter said the figure is around 450.

The country has been undergoing hardship since 1991, with many crises and catastrophes taking place in the country since the US military barged into the country in the early 1990s as part of a coalition formed against the country that was experiencing war at the time.

The situation was rather harsh under President Trump, as he loosened controls on airstrikes in the country, with the Pentagon escalating combat activity on Somali soil. 

Trump alone authorized 202 airstrikes on Somalia during his term, exceeding by far all his predecessors and only successor. Bush authorized 12, Obama authorized 48, and Biden has authorized 5 so far.

The bolstered military intervention comes just a day after a long-delayed election on Sunday in the nation saw Somali legislators election former leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was President from 2012 to 2017.

As it became evident that Mohamud had won the election, supporters of Somalia's new leader disobeyed the curfew and poured into the streets of Mogadishu, cheering and firing firearms.

He now inherits significant obstacles from his predecessor, including an increase in attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab organization and a terrible drought that threatens to starve millions.

The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian disaster unless immediate action is taken, with emergency workers anticipating a repetition of the horrific 2011 famine, which killed 260,000 people, half of whom were children under the age of six.