Troops deployed under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia , or AUSSOM, are expected to vacate four military positions in southern Somalia's Lower Shabelle region in early November as part of a planned troop reduction driven by funding constraints, Garowe reported on Oct. 29. Sources reported that al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants had already moved into some of the affected towns, although this could not be independently verified, while the Somali government and the African Union had not publicly confirmed the reported withdrawal at the time of publication.