Relocation of 700 troops would shift course in Africa in waning weeks of Trump administration; move would follow troop cuts in Iraq, Afghanistan
The Trump administration is considering a plan to pull hundreds of U.S. troops out of Somalia, reposition them in neighboring countries and shift the focus of their mission from training Somali government forces to directly combatting the al-Shabaab militant group.
The roughly 700 troops stationed in Somalia would move to bases in Kenya and Djibouti and travel to Somalia to conduct shorter counterterrorism missions, primarily against al-Shabaab, a jihadist group allied with al Qaeda.