The US launched an airstrike in Somalia for the second day in a row, US Africa Command said in a press release on Monday, as the Trump administration continues the bombing campaign despite plans to cut support for the African Union’s mission in the country.
AFRICOM said that the strike was launched on July 4 and targeted al-Shabaab near Jamame, a town about 37 miles northeast of the southern port city of Kismayo. US airstrikes launched in the same area in November 2025 killed 12 civilians, including eight children, according to an investigation by The Guardian.
AFRICOM offered no other details about the July 4 strike, and there were no statements from the US-backed Somali government about operations that day. The attack marks at least the 71st US airstrike in Somalia this year, according to AFRICOM’s numbers, as the Trump administration has continued bombing the country at a record pace.
The latest US strikes in Somalia come after reports said that the US is planning to cut support for the African Union’s mission in Somalia, known as AUSSOM. According to Reuters, the US told the AU that it wouldn’t support the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), which has a $500 million budget, beyond the end of the year.
The US said it would not object to the UN Security Council renewing AUSSOM’s mandate but would oppose any extension that included UN logistical or operational support. The withdrawal of US funding for the mission through the UN would likely mean its end, though there’s no sign yet that US airstrikes are slowing.
The notice from the US comes amid a political crisis in Somalia sparked by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s decision to stay in power despite his term expiring, something he justifies by the changes his government made to the constitution. The crisis has led to clashes between the US-backed government and opposition, and al-Shabaab has been taking advantage of the situation, with locals reporting the group is conducting patrols at night just outside of Mogadishu.
A new report from the International Crisis Group published last week said that the war against al-Shabaab remained at a stalemate and that the group made major advances in 2025 despite a dramatic escalation in US airstrikes since President Trump returned to office. On top of the strikes in southern Somalia, the US has also been bombing an ISIS affiliate in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region.
The US launched a record 124 airstrikes in Somalia in 2025, which, according to New America, an organization that tracks the air war, is more than were conducted during the administrations of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush combined.
