The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) – comprised of forces from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Ethiopia – is a concrete sign of this cooperation against a growing terror network…

Such limited US actions are, for now, accepted or even welcomed by regional leaders, says Atta-Asamoah. That‘s because AMISOM, which is focused mostly on ground efforts, lacks a comparable air capacity. But if the US incurs major civilian casualties, AMISOM could face an insurgency strengthened by public anger.

“The more airstrikes you have the more visible the US footprint on the ground becomes,” Atta-Asamoah says. “The increasing involvement can easily become the basis for recruiting other jihadis across the world who might be fighting a cause against the US.“