Washington (SD) – US President Donald Trump said he wants to withdraw US troops from Somalia, in an attempt to fulfil a 2016 promise.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Trump wants to campaign on bringing US troops fighting abroad home from various countries, which the Department of Defense is said to be working on.

Trump had talks about the withdrawal with National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley, according to sources.

The estimated 700 US soldiers in the country were deployed there during Trump’s presidency.

Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo told Bloomberg that he does not want the United States to pull its troops from Somalia now.

“We really appreciate the U.S. support, and we are grateful for what the U.S. has done, and we would like to see the troops remain until the work is 100% accomplished,” Farmajo told Bloomberg.

The United States has 700 soldiers in Somalia, which has a large military base in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia, helping government troops and African Union peacekeepers fight Al Shabab.