Somalia: US confirms troop exit from Baledogle airfield over runway repair costs

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The United States has confirmed that its troops have withdrawn from Baledogle Military Airfield in southern Somalia, describing the move as a purely economic decision driven by a deteriorating runway that had become unsafe for aircraft.

Army Lieutenant General John Brennan, deputy commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), said most personnel previously based at the site have been relocated to Mogadishu. “The relocation from Baledogle was 100% an economic decision,” he told reporters. “The surface of the airfield was declining to the point where it was becoming dangerous to land aircraft there.”

Resurfacing the runway would have cost tens of millions of dollars, General Brennan added. He stressed that the departure does not represent any reduction in American support for Somali security forces fighting the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab. US airstrikes against the group have continued in recent weeks, including operations in Lower Shabelle.

Strategic hub for more than a decade

Baledogle, also known in some local reporting as Bellidogle, lies roughly 90–100 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu in the Lower Shabelle region. Built in the 1970s with Soviet assistance, the airfield has served since around 2012 as a major hub for US counter-terrorism operations, intelligence gathering, and the training of Somalia’s elite Danab special forces brigade.

The base has long been viewed as one of the more significant American outposts in the Horn of Africa. In September 2019 it came under one of the largest Al-Shabaab assaults on US forces in Somalia since the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, involving a truck bomb and subsequent small-arms fire. Despite such risks, the United States continued to invest in the facility. In 2018 the US Navy awarded a contract of more than $12 million for emergency runway repairs. As recently as May 2025, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa announced construction of a new medical facility together with housing and security upgrades, describing the work as part of efforts to develop Baledogle as an “enduring location.”

Reports of the US departure first appeared in late October. AFRICOM initially declined to confirm details, citing operational security, and stated only that it repositions forces to optimise counter-terrorism operations. Officials later indicated that a return to the airfield remains possible if conditions change, though no firm plans have been announced. Ugandan and Somali forces are reported to remain at the site.

Continuity of operations

General Brennan’s remarks place the withdrawal in a narrow financial frame rather than any broader strategic retreat. The United States maintains a presence elsewhere in Somalia and continues to conduct strikes and advise partner forces. The episode fits a longer pattern of fluctuating American troop levels in the country: nearly 700 personnel were ordered out under President Donald Trump in late 2020, only for hundreds to return under President Joe Biden in 2022 to strengthen coordination with Somali forces.

The decision leaves open questions about the future of training for the Danab brigade and the precise scale of the US footprint that remains. What is clear, according to AFRICOM, is that the immediate reason for leaving Baledogle was the condition of the runway and the cost of fixing it.

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