Trump's air raid in Somalia: greatest escalation in years!

Trump's air raid in Somalia: greatest escalation in years!

in the horn of Africa, especially in Somalia, the military presence of the United States is increasingly being viewed critically. The largest air raid in history was carried out in February 2023 by the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. Admiral James Kilby described the attack as the "biggest air raid in history", in which around 57,000 kilos of ammunition of 16 super hornet fighter jets were thrown off. According to Telepolis this attack killed 14 people.

The development of military interventions

The military presence of the United States in Somalia goes back to the early 1990s when the focus was on humanitarian interventions. However, these developments were quickly overshadowed by the challenges of the "Black Hawk Down" incident in 1993. Since then, the commitment of humanitarian missions to air strikes has changed against militant groups. According to the horn institutes the number of air strikes rose during Trump's office time to over 200.

The air raids associated with this intensification are critically accompanied by Amnesty International. The organization emphasizes that frequent attacks often lead to civilian victims and, in a high number of cases, represent themselves as a violation of international humanitarian law. Reports show that the attacks not only affect militant groups, but also uninvolved civilians who have been wounded or even killed by such military actions in the past.

Humanitarian crisis and geopolitical tensions

Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been fighting political instability and violent conflicts for decades. Al-Shabaab, a militant group, was partly created in response to US foreign policy. Despite the ongoing military measures, successes against this group are only limited, as the increase in violence after the deduction of American troops in 2021 shows. Al-Shabaab recorded an increase in attacks by 17 % during this period.

The US strategy in Africa horn is also complicated by geopolitical tensions between the USA and China. China has invested in numerous African states in recent years, which leads to a real “cold war” between the two nations. While the United States is pursuing military strategies, China seems to pursue a different approach that is based on economic cooperation.

All of these aspects lead to the consideration of whether the military presence and air strikes in the United States are really the right way to achieve long -term stability and peace in Somalia. Critics argue that instead of a purely military solution, political approaches and local governance are of crucial importance.