Washington, D.C. – The new head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Air Force Brig. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, has pledged to keep American forces engaged in Somalia but signaled a potential strategic shift, warning of a dangerous new front: growing cooperation between Al-Shabaab and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Anderson, confirmed just last week as the first Air Force officer to lead AFRICOM since its creation in 2007, told lawmakers that U.S. presence in Somalia remains “critical” to American interests, even if the form of that support changes. He cautioned that Al-Shabaab not only has the intent but could soon have the capability—through Houthi cooperation—to launch stronger attacks on U.S. targets and global shipping.
“This emerging partnership across the Red Sea is deeply concerning,” Anderson warned during his confirmation hearing. “The Houthis already disrupt maritime trade in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Coupled with Al-Shabaab’s control of large swaths of Somalia, this could become a far greater threat to one of the world’s most vital waterways.”
The warning comes as Somalia braces for the planned withdrawal of African Union peacekeepers (ATMIS) by the end of 2024, to be replaced by a Somali-led security structure whose funding remains uncertain. A proposed African Union Stabilization Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) faces a potential U.S. funding block under new legislation before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
AFRICOM announced a drone strike against Al-Shabaab fighters near Bariire in Lower Shabelle on the same day Anderson’s confirmation was finalized—signaling that counterterrorism operations will continue for now. But the general hinted at a reassessment of how Washington engages with Somalia’s fragile political landscape, where tensions between the federal government in Mogadishu and federal member states persist.
Anderson, a veteran of U.S. special operations in Africa, inherits a mission under both strategic review and political scrutiny. His approach will determine whether U.S. policy tilts toward backing Somalia’s central government or working more closely with regional authorities on the front lines of the fight against Al-Shabaab.
If Congress cuts peacekeeping funding, his command could become the primary vehicle for U.S. security engagement in Somalia—at a moment when a new cross-sea militant alliance threatens to reshape the Horn of Africa’s conflict map.