President Donald Trump's approval of greater US military authority to pursue al-Qaida-linked extremists in Somalia will put civilians further at risk, experts say, especially as drought displaces thousands of people in areas that now will be considered a war zone.
Trump has approved a Pentagon request to allow more aggressive airstrikes against extremist group al-Shabab as parts of southern Somalia will be considered areas of active hostilities.
US special operations forces can move closer to the fight and call in offensive airstrikes more quickly while increasing assistance to the Somali National Army.
Some in long-chaotic Somalia, where access to independent information is extremely challenging, could see this as a chance to spread misinformation, said Laetitia Bader, a Somalia researcher for Human Rights Watch.
"At a time when thousands of civilians are currently on the move ... The US should be cautious in relying on information about whether civilians are present before deciding to strike," she said.
Somalia's fragile central government, which struggles to assert itself beyond the capital and other limited areas, has not yet commented on Trump's decision. The country also was one of the seven predominantly Muslim countries included in Trump's recent travel ban that has been suspended by federal courts.
Somalia's government has declared the growing drought a national disaster, with the UN saying roughly half of the country's 12 million people are at risk. A cholera outbreak also spreads. More than a quarter-million people have been displaced in recent months, the UN refugee agency says, as drought-stricken families try to reach points where aid agencies are distributing food.
Aid agencies cannot distribute in areas under the control of al-Shabab, which dominates remote towns and villages across the south and central parts of the country.
The extremist group has promoted its own drought relief efforts, but they are seen as attempts to keep civilians from leaving areas under their control.
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