AFRICOM: The Plan To Reduce US Force In Africa Does Not Include Libya

AFRICOM commander, Thomas Waldhauser, said that the plan of the Ministry of Defense to reduce the number of troops in Africa does not include the air strikes to combat terrorism in Libya.

In a briefing to the US Congress on Thursday, Waldhauser stated the first phase of the reduction plan would require the withdrawal of 300 US troops from the African continent by June 2020, which makes 10 percent of US troops in Africa. He also clarified that this decision will not affect the counterterrorism operations in Libya and Somalia, and will continue to target “terrorists” air raids, according to the newspaper “New Jersey Herald.”

The last US air strike was on the outskirts of the city of Obari last month, targeting members of the Al-Qaeda, according to a spokesman for the President of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Essallak.