Somaliland welcomes US decision to withdraw its 700 troops from Somalia

December 5, 2020

This picture taken 26 December 2011 shows the Pentagon building in Washington, DC. Photo by: STAFF/AFP/Getty Images

By: MODUALE

Somaliland government welcomes the opportunity to strengthen partnership with like mandated nations to advance democracy, promote free-market economies and protect this strategic region against enduring threats.

In a statement issued by the Somaliland ministry of foreign affairs supports the planned withdrawal of the 700 U.S troops based in Somalia.

“The united states’ decision to remove its military forces from Somalia sends a strong message that governments in this region must take responsibility for their nation’s security.
During the republic of Somaliland’s three decades as an independent sovereign and democratic nation, our government and people have fulfilled this responsibility.”Said statement

“Our security forces, law enforcement institutions and strong judiciary system have deterred terrorism and piracy from our territory and adjacent waterways, which are an essential transit route for U.S military vessels and the global shipping industry. As the United States revise its approach to the Horn of Africa, the government of Somaliland welcomes the opportunity to strengthen partnerships with like-minded nations to advance democracy, promote free-market economies and protect this strategic region against enduring threats. Statement added

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has ordered the majority of US troops to leave Somalia “by early 2021,” in just the latest major military policy decision being taken in the final days of the Trump administration.

“The President of the United States has ordered the Department of Defense and the United States Africa Command to reposition the majority of personnel and assets out of Somalia by early 2021,” the Pentagon said in a statement Friday.

The statement claimed that despite removing most of the roughly 700 troops currently serving in Somalia that “this action is not a change in US policy.”

“This action is not a withdrawal and end to our efforts but a reposition to continue our efforts in East Africa,” said a separate statement from United States Africa Command.

Trump’s order follows the November 17 announcement that he will withdraw thousands more US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq by January 15, 2021.