Trump orders nearly all US troops to leave Somalia by early next year

Donald Trump has ordered that nearly all US troops are to leave Somalia by early next year.

Around 700 troops have been stationed in the country for the last 13 years fighting local al Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabaab.

Now the outgoing president has told the Pentagon to pull them out of the African country, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The troops will be relocated to bases in Kenya and Djibouti and go back into Somalia to conduct operations against al-Shabaab and other Islamic State militants.

“The US is not withdrawing or disengaging from Africa. We remain committed to our African partners and enduring support through a whole-of-government approach,” said the Pentagon in a statement.

“We will continue to degrade violent extremist organisations that could threaten our homeland while ensuring we maintain our strategic advantage in great power competition.”

Officials say the move, which is supported by new acting defense secretary Chris Miller, is a change in course for the administration.

Former defense secretary Mark Esper had preferred to keep troops in Somalia while removing forces from West Africa, the officials told the Wall Street Journal.

The US military said in April that it had killed a high-ranking member of the extremist group in an airstrike.

Yusuf Jiis was one of three terrorists killed in the attack near Bush Madina in the country’s Bay region.

US officials called Jiis a “foundational member” of the group, which controls parts of central and southern Somalia and frequently carries out attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.