"The United States has dramatically intensified its military air campaign in Somalia, carrying out 111 strikes against armed groups, also killing civilians, since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to the New America Foundation, which monitors the operations. In the most recent one, the US Africa Command conducted an air strike on December 14, approximately 50 kilometres (31 miles) northeast of the city of Kismayo, targeting what it said were members of the Somali armed group, al-Shabaab."
"The escalation began in February when Trump launched his administration's first strike in Somalia. Months later, a senior US Navy admiral said the US had carried out what he said was the largest air strike in the history of the world from an aircraft carrier, marking a sharp departure from the previous administration's approach. The strike total this year already surpasses the combined number carried out under Presidents George W Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden."
"The intensified campaign targets both al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate that has fought Somalia's government since 2007 and controls large areas of the south-central regions, and ISIL (SIS) in Somalia, a smaller offshoot concentrated in the northeast with an estimated 1,500 fighters. Somalia's war with armed groups was Africa's third-deadliest over the last year, killing 7,289 people, according to the US-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies."
The United States has escalated its military air campaign in Somalia, conducting 111 strikes against armed groups since President Donald Trump returned to office and causing civilian casualties. A December 14 strike by US Africa Command occurred about 50 kilometres northeast of Kismayo targeting alleged al-Shabaab members. The campaign intensified after a February strike and a subsequent carrier-based strike described by a senior Navy admiral as the largest in history. Operations target al-Shabaab and ISIL in Somalia, support the Somali federal government, involve training of elite forces and basing of US troops, and follow a directive reversing prior operational restrictions.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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