US Defense Secretary James
Mattis has arrived in Djibouti on a trip to bolster ties with the tiny
African country, which houses the only known US military base on the
continent.
After arriving at Camp Lemonnier on Sunday,
the Pentagon chief headed to the capital Djibouti City to meet with the
country’s president and defense minister. He will also meet with General
Thomas Waldhauser, commander of US troops in Africa.
Touted by
military experts as one of the most strategically important US military
bases abroad, Camp Lemonnier has been dramatically expanded since it was
built in 2001. The number of personnel stationed there, for example,
has jumped from 900 to 5,000 since 2002.
The US has been using a
fleet of drones stationed at the base to conduct bombing missions
against several Muslim countries in the region..
The visit comes
less the a month after the administration of US President Donald Trump
allowed the US Africa Command to expand its airstrikes in Somalia upon a
request by the Pentagon.
The US military claims the airstrikes
are mainly aimed at protecting Pentagon advisers operating on the ground
with Somali and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces.
However, official reports show that the airstrikes in Somalia, Yemen and other countries often lead to civilian casualties.
The
new Pentagon directive allows the US military in Africa to carry out
attacks without waiting for Washington’s approval, officials say.
Lemonnier
was so crucial to US military operations that in 2014, the Pentagon
signed an agreement worth $70 million per year to extend its lease
through 2044. Satellite imagery have revealed the secret expansion of a US military base in Africa. (Photo: Google Earth)Washington
has also deployed a number of drones to the Chabelley Airfield, located
some 6 miles (9.5km) to the southwest of Djibouti’s capital. Read More:
“For
(the Pentagon) Camp Lemonnier and Chabelley are critical in terms of
logistics. They support multiple US combat command,” a senior US
military official said, according to Daily Mail.
In his meetings, Mattis was also expected to address the issue of China’s growing influence in Djibouti.
Beijing
has been in the process of establishing its first overseas military
base in the small Horn of Africa country just a few miles from Camp
Lemonnier, a decision that Waldhauser says would raise “security
concerns.”
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