The US launched three airstrikes in Somalia against al-Shabaab within the past two weeks, marking an escalation of the US air war in the country.
The series of airstrikes started with one on February 20, which US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said was launched near Bulo Burti in central Somalia. The strike marked the first known US attack on al-Shabaab under the new Trump administration. Earlier in February, the US bombed ISIS targets in northeast Somalia’s Puntland region.
AFRICOM reported another US airstrike in central Somalia that targeted al-Shabaab on February 25. Another US bombing was reported to occur near Bulo Burti on March 1, which AFRICOM claimed killed “several terrorists.”
In all three of the US airstrikes against al-Shabaab, AFRICOM said they were launched in support of the US-backed Mogadishu-based government and described the attacks as “collective self-defense.” The command also claimed its initial assessments found no civilians were harmed, but the Pentagon is notorious for hiding civilian casualties in Somalia.
The ramped-up US airstrikes in Somalia come amid news that President Trump eased restrictions on US airstrikes and special operations raids outside conventional battlefields.

During his first term in office, President Trump also loosened the rules of engagement in the terror wars and dramatically ramped up the drone war against al-Shabaab in Somalia. President Biden continued the war and redeployed troops to Somalia but did not bomb the country nearly at the rate Trump did in his first term.
The US military hypes the threat of al-Shabaab due to its size and al-Qaeda affiliation, but it’s widely believed the group does not have ambitions outside of Somalia.
Al-Shabaab was born out of a US-backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006 that toppled the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Muslim groups who briefly held power in Mogadishu after ousting CIA-backed warlords.
Al-Shabaab was the radical offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union. The group’s first recorded attack was in 2007, and it wasn’t until 2012 that al-Shabaab pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda after years of fighting the US and its proxies.
I can't detach this from the wider East African chaos, from the Egypt-Ethiopia near war, the brutal civil war in Sudan or the recent developments in the Rwanda-Congo war for the coltan of Kivu, where suddenly Kagame (Rwanda) has gone missing after falling ill, Western powers have gone into sanction rampage against their former ally Rwanda and Tshisekedi (DR Congo) has signed a mineral giveaway deal with these. Rwanda is connected to Somalia via their allies in Uganda and Kenya.
IIRC Rwanda recently started working with Russia and have been in China's 'Belt & Road' program for a while, since help from the West was utterly inadequate. Wonder what this means for Zipline's operations.
I don’t know enough yet but I suspect it’s related to Uganda becoming a BRICS partner and to rumors of China training Rwandese troops. Previously these two were best friends of USA/Britain, since the 90s until just weeks ago. Anyhow, it was clear that D.R. Congo lacked allies (maybe some lesser help from France in the shape of former legionaire mercenaries?, some diffuse sympathies from South Africa and Angola?) and that made them particularly weak, while Rwanda had all the money, military equipment and disciplined troops and proxy guerrilla.
Something has changed quite radically in the last weeks.
“collective self-defense.”
Uh, guys, for it to be "self defense" there needs to be some sort of threat to the Untied States. Otherwise it's just another gratuitous offensive operation. Just thought I'd let you know . . .
I wonder how many hundreds of millions have been spent on bombing and strafing Somali fishermen over the years. (I'd bet it's considerably more than the amount allotted to Superfund site cleanup over the same time.) Hell, there aren't even any exploitable resources for the mega-corps in the Horn of Africa region, I'm still unclear what the purpose of these attempts to massacre Africans are, unless it's just to ensure continued misery in the area.
Nobody knows, really.
Somalia: The Forgotten Story
The story of Somalia’s decline from stability to chaos and the problems facing its people at home and abroad.
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/al-jazeera-world/2016/11/2/somalia-the-forgotten-story/
Somalia, from the Cold War to the War on Terror
https://blackagendareport.com/somalia-cold-war-war-terror
I am certain that none of this escalation is of benefit to anyone other than the MIC!…
Another article I don't expect to see Trump supporters commenting on. So, Somalia the same. Lifting rules of engagement to make killing easier, the same. Maximum Pressure Campaign against Iran, the same. Blind loyalty towards Israel, the same. Millions from an Adelsen, the same. Military budget increases…….
All the savings gotten from DOGE will be directed to the Pentagon.
More bombs from the peace president.