US sends aircraft carrier to Somalia

The US military on Monday acknowledged that it had moved the aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, off the coast of Somalia as it prepares to transfer nearly all American troops from the country to other parts of Africa.

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group since Dec. 21 “has been providing operational and close air support to Joint Task Force – Quartz,” the group in charge of repositioning forces from Somalia to other east Africa locations, according to a Navy statement.

The beefing up of forces in the waters around Somalia comes after the Trump administration earlier this month ordered the withdrawal of most of the roughly 700 service members stationed in the country by the end of January.