The escalation of terrorist attacks changes the international strategy in Somalia

 International parties participating in security operations in Somalia revealed new strategies based on focusing on naval bases and training Somali forces, and paying attention to resolving political and economic dilemmas, as an entry point to ensuring security stability in this African country that has lived through decades of security and economic turmoil.

This new shift comes in conjunction with the increasing losses resulting from terrorist attacks led by the "Al-Shabaab Movement" in Somalia, by up to 70 percent during the period from mid-March to the first week of June 2023.

Indeed, the features of the new international trend began to appear strongly, as the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia concluded, on Friday, the first phase of withdrawing its forces, which number about 19 thousand soldiers, and handed over two basic bases that housed two thousand fighters of various African nationalities, to the Somali forces.

The United States.. and the new strategy

• The International Crisis Group said that the United States is heading to "adopt a new strategy in Somalia, focusing on non-military means, in addition to launching air strikes when needed, and helping to build the nascent Somali armed forces."
• For more than 3 months, there has been a great debate in American circles about the motives that led the White House to back down from former President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw all 700 US forces from Somalia, during the last days of his administration.
• At the end of 2022, a report issued by the US Senate acknowledged the "growing activities of the Al-Shabaab movement," noting that it "poses the greatest threat to US nationals and interests in the Horn of Africa."
• The report stressed that "leaving Al-Shabaab unchecked will lead to its expansion beyond Somalia's borders, and thus to an increase in its threat to regional stability and US interests."
• In light of all these developments, it seems clear that the United States will rely on its new strategy, which balances between working on the terrorist threat in the region and the need not to suffer large losses among American soldiers.
• This means relying on a "limited footprint" strategy, which many US experts believe "will not lead to the elimination of al-Shabaab."