Security forces
The United States military in Somalia: AFRICOM, Baledogle and Danab
After the UN-era mission of 1992–1994, the US returned to Somalia militarily from 2007 with air strikes and, from 2013–14, training of the Danab commando brigade at Baledogle airfield. About 700 US troops were in Somalia when President Trump ordered most of them out in December 2020; President Biden sent fewer than 500 back in May 2022. In February 2024 the US agreed to build five bases for Danab, which was then nearing its target of 3,000 personnel.
In short
The United States has had three kinds of military role in Somalia: the UN-backed intervention of 1992–1994, air strikes since 2007, and training and advising the Somali army's Danab commandos since 2013–14. Its forces in Africa come under US Africa Command (AFRICOM). This page covers the training mission, bases and troop numbers. The strikes are covered in US air strikes in Somalia, and the 1990s in The UN intervention, 1992 to 1995 and The Battle of Mogadishu, 1993. It is part of Foreign forces in Somalia.
Danab, from 2013
Danab ("lightning") is a commando unit of the Somali National Army, based at Baledogle airfield in Lower Shabelle. Wikipedia records that its first company of 150 recruits began training in October 2013 under Bancroft Global Development, a US private firm, with costs paid by the AU mission and reimbursed by the US State Department, and that the aim was a unit drawn from all clans (Wikipedia, Danab Brigade, citing Hiiraan Online, February 2014, and VOA, July 2014). In 2017 the two governments set a target of 3,000 Danab personnel. In February 2024 the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, said the force would reach that target "within several months" and was taking on more of its own recruiting and training (VOA, 15 February 2024).
In May 2017 a US Navy SEAL was killed during a raid with Danab forces at Barii, about 40 miles west of Mogadishu, the first US combat death in Somalia since 1993 (Wikipedia, citing Reuters, 5 May 2017).
Baledogle
In 2017 Al Jazeera described the US presence in Somalia as unacknowledged by Washington, but including a large site at Baledogle airfield (Al Jazeera, 1 October 2017). Wikipedia records that US special operations forces and contractors repaired and expanded the barracks there for Danab (Wikipedia, Danab Brigade).
Troop numbers: withdrawal and return
- December 2020–January 2021. President Trump ordered the withdrawal of about 700 US troops. Forces were then rotated in and out from elsewhere in East Africa. The AFRICOM commander, General Stephen Townsend, told Congress in March 2022 that the rotations amounted to "commuting to work" and that "we are marching in place at best" (PBS NewsHour, AP, 16 May 2022).
- May 2022. President Biden signed an order on 16 May 2022 to station a "small, persistent" force in Somalia again, drawn from elsewhere in Africa. The White House gave the number as under 500; The New York Times reported a cap of about 450, and that Biden also approved standing authority to target about a dozen suspected al-Shabaab leaders (PBS NewsHour, 2022).
The five bases agreement, 2024
On 15 February 2024 the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding under which the US would build up to five bases for Danab. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud presided; Defence Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur and the US chargé d'affaires signed. Phee said Danab's reliance on "temporary, often inadequate" camps hampered its readiness, and that the Somali army should eventually run the bases (VOA, 15 February 2024). Somali reports named the locations as Baidoa, Dhusamareb, Jowhar, Kismayo and Mogadishu, and one put the value at over US$100 million (Dawan Africa, February 2024).
Air support
US forces direct air strikes when Danab units are in contact with al-Shabaab, according to Wikipedia. The number and record of strikes, and Amnesty International's findings on civilian deaths, are set out in US air strikes in Somalia.
Al-Qaeda's earlier East Africa cell, including the 1998 embassy bombings and the 2009 and 2011 killings of its leaders in Somalia, is covered in Al-Qaeda's East Africa cell and Somalia, 1998 to 2011.
Sources differ
- When Danab began. Training began in October 2013 and the first graduates finished in February 2014 (Wikipedia); some reports date the unit to the 2017 agreement on 3,000 personnel.
- Troops in 2022. "Under 500" (White House) or about 450 (The New York Times).
- Value of the 2024 bases deal. Over US$100 million in one Somali report; the US did not give a figure.
Read the primary sources yourself
Sources
- Wikipedia, Danab Brigade · en.wikipedia.org
- VOA, 15 February 2024 · voanews.com
- Al Jazeera, 1 October 2017 · aljazeera.com
- PBS NewsHour, AP, 16 May 2022 · pbs.org
- Dawan Africa, February 2024 · dawan.africa
Toosoo!
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Read the callWhere this matters
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- Dhuusamarreeb (Dhusamareb) and GalgaduudGalgaduud is a region of central Somalia in Galmudug State, with Dhusamareb (Dhuusamarreeb) as its capital and about 845,000 people.
- Jowhar (Johar) and Middle ShabelleMiddle Shabelle is the farming region along the Shabelle river north of Mogadishu, with Jowhar as its capital and about 1 to 1.26 million people.
- Marka (Merca) and Lower ShabelleLower Shabelle is Somalia's biggest farming region, along the Shabelle river south-west of Mogadishu, with Marka (Merca) as its capital and about 835,000 to…
- Baydhabo (Baidoa) and BayBay is a farming region in South West State, with Baidoa (Baydhabo) as its main city and about 1.25 to 1.8 million people.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
Same era
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- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
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- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- AMISOM, the African Union Mission in Somalia, 2007–2022AMISOM, 2007–2022: mandate, troop contributors and numbers, commanders, main operations, losses, funding and the record of abuses, until it became ATMIS.
- ATMIS, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, 2022–2024ATMIS, 2022–2024: why it was created, its drawdown in phases, the bases handed over, the attacks on its camps, and the move to AUSSOM.
- AUSSOM, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, 2025 to nowAUSSOM, the AU mission since January 2025: how it was approved, its size and troop allocations, Egypt and Ethiopia, Burundi's exit, and the funding gap.
- Commanders of the Somali army since 1960 (Taliyaha Ciidanka Xoogga)Every commander of the Somali armed forces since 1960, with their dates: the Republic, the military government, the transitional government and the federal government.
- Foreign forces in SomaliaWhich foreign states have deployed or trained forces in Somalia since 2006: Ethiopia, Kenya, the United States, Turkey, the UAE, Egypt, Eritrea and others, from the sources.
- Turkey's military in Somalia: Camp TURKSOM, drones and the sea pactTurkey's military role in Somalia since 2017: the TURKSOM base and the units it trains, armed drones and helicopters, the 2024 defence pact and navy, troop mandates, and the offshore oil link.