USA Withdraws Troops From Baledogle Airfield in Somalia After 14 Years of Presence

The U.S. Armed Forces have withdrawn their military contingent from Baledogle Airfield in Somalia after 14 years of operation there.

This was reported by Task & Purpose, citing an unnamed U.S. military official.

The withdrawal took place last month. However, U.S. forces are not leaving the country entirely and are being redeployed to other regions of Somalia. The publication’s source also suggested that U.S. troops may return to this airfield in the future.

Baledogle Airfield is located approximately 96 km southwest of the country’s capital, Mogadishu. The exact number of U.S. military personnel stationed at the facility prior to the redeployment has not yet been disclosed. However, the U.S. previously maintained dozens of specialists there.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) declined to directly confirm the withdrawal from the base, noting that the U.S. military is mobile and relocates units to optimize counterterrorism operations.

U.S. military personnel at Baledogle

U.S. troops began deploying to Baledogle Airfield in 2012, gradually expanding their presence at the location.

The key mission of the U.S. contingent at the base was to conduct counterterrorism missions and support operations against militants in the Horn of Africa region.

In addition, American instructors at Baledogle Airfield were involved in training and instructing fighters from elite Somali special forces units.

The airfield itself remained a key battleground in Somalia’s civil war for a long time: in 2009, it was seized by the Al-Shabaab group and used as a training camp for three years until African Union forces drove the militants out.

In September 2019, Al-Shabaab militants launched a large-scale attack on the base using car bombs and small arms, but U.S. and Somali troops repelled the attack after an hour-long battle.

At the same time, the U.S. will cease funding for the United Nations Support Office for Somalia (UNSOS) and the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission (AUSSOM) after its mandate expires in December of this year.

The reason is Somalia’s insufficient progress in combating the Al-Shabaab group and its failure to fulfill security commitments to the mission.