The Department of Defense announced Thursday the withdrawal and realignment of some U.S. Africa Command Counter Violent Extremist Organization, in accordance with priorities outlined in this years National Defense Strategy.

The realignment projects a reduction of under 10 percent of the 7,200 troops assigned to Africa Command over the next several years.

"Optimization preserves the majority of U.S. security cooperation partnerships and programs in Africa to strengthen partner networks, enhance partner capability and support ongoing programs," the Pentagon said in a press release.

C-VEO missions in Somalia, Djibouti and Libya will be mostly unaffected, while in West Africa the operations will shift from direct tactical assistance to an advisory, assistance and intelligence capacity.

The New York Times reported earlier this year that projected drawdowns in Africa Command would be mostly composed of special operations forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Central and West Africa.

The U.S. presence in Africa has involved small numbers of troops scattered across over 50 countries and performing a variety of missions including operations against extremist and insurgent groups.

Africa Command, the newest of the Pentagon's commands across the globe, has relatively few personnel compared to other commands and is scattered over a huge, complex landmass with hundreds of languages and ethnic groups.

Its deployments have received renewed attention over the last year after the deaths of four Special Operations personnel in Niger following an October 2017 ambush by Islamic extremists.

Three Nigerian soldiers in Boko Haram attack on military base
Kano, Nigeria (AFP) Nov 15, 2018 - At least three soldiers were killed and several missing after a Boko Haram attack on a military base in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, military and militia sources told AFP Thursday.

Boko Haram fighters believed to be from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) late Wednesday attacked the base in the town of Kareto, 150 kilometres (about 90 miles) north of the state capital Maiduguri.

The militants temporarily dislodged troops from the base before being repelled with aerial support, the sources said.

"We lost three soldiers in the fight and several others are still missing," a military officer in Maiduguri told AFP.

"The terrorists were smoked out of the base by a fighter jet which deployed to the scene," said the officer who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the incident.

Troop reinforcements were sent to the base, the officer said. It was not clear if the jihadists took away weapons.

A civilian militia fighting Boko Haram in the area said troops withdrew to the town of Gubio, 60 km away, while Kareto residents fled across the border into Niger.

"The bodies of three soldiers were recovered after the attack," said the militia who preferred not to be identified.

"More troops have arrived in Kareto but most residents have not returned," he said.

It was the second attack on the military base in two years.

In April 2016, a Boko Haram raid left 24 soldiers wounded, according to military authorities.

Boko Haram jihadists late Wednesday also attacked Mammanti village, just outside Maiduguri, killing one person and burning the entire village before stealing hundreds of cattle, the local chief of the village and residents said.

"The insurgents came around 11:00 pm (2200 GMT) and opened indiscriminate fire," Muhammad Mammanti, a resident, said.

"They killed one person and burnt the whole village and stole our cattle," Mammanti said.

Earlier in the day a group of jihadists abducted seven women while working on a farm near the town of Bama, 70 km from Maiduguri, after killing their male escort, militia sources said.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on farmers and loggers in recent years, accusing them of passing information on the group to the military.

Despite the government's insistence that the group is near defeat, Boko Haram has recently carried out major attacks on military and civilian targets, killing scores.

More than 27,000 people have died since the start of the insurgency in the remote northeast in 2009 and 1.8 million are still homeless.

Related Links
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Comoros displays captured 'rebel' arsenal
Mutsamudu, Comoros (AFP) Oct 22, 2018
Officials in Comoros on Monday displayed weapons and ammunition allegedly recovered by security forces from rebel fighters who besieged part of Anjouan island's main city during a week of clashes. Soldiers showed off an array of Kalashnikov-style assault rifles, boxes of bullets and explosive munitions said to have belonged to rebel fighters. The army said it had regained control of the so-called medina quarter of Mutsamudu city on Saturday, in the latest bout of instability to rock the coup- ... read more