(Bloomberg) -- American forces under the U.S. Africa Command will begin removing troops from Somalia to an undisclosed location within East Africa, according to a statement on its website. U.S. President Donald Trump this month ordered most U.S. forces to leave Somalia by early 2021.
A joint task force, JTF-Quartz, “will oversee Operation Octave Quartz, the directed re-positioning of U.S. forces from Somalia to other bases in East Africa,” U.S. Africa Command commander, U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend said. About 700 U.S. troops are in Somalia on what is largely a counter-terrorism mission.
“We will execute this mission swiftly, methodically, and with additional forces to protect both our partners and U.S. forces,” Major General Dagvin Anderson said.
