Over 1 Million Somali Children Near Starvation as Pentagon Plans New Troop Deployment

The Pentagon wants to send troops back into Somalia on a permanent basis just 14 months after they were ordered to leave. The push for a new deployment comes as the African nation faces a serious drought, with the UN warning that 1.4 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition in the coming months. 

Speaking to the Senate on Tuesday, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) head General Stephen Townsend warned that Somali jihadist faction al-Shabaab is seeing a resurgence after American troops pulled back a little over a year ago, calling it “among the world’s fastest-growing, wealthiest and deadliest terrorist groups.”

“Our willingness to work together with African partners creates a huge demand for US engagement and partnership [in] Africa,” Townsend said, adding that the current American policy of “periodic engagement” has created “new challenges and risks for our troops.”