Day: August 16, 2021

MOGADISHU – The Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan has raised concerns that it could encourage other Islamist militant groups around the world, such as al-Shabab in Somalia. Experts warn that when and if international forces there try to hand over security to the Somali government, the world could see a repeat of what happened in Afghanistan.

Former Somali intelligence official Abdulsalam Gulaid says Somalia could see a similar development unless the Somali government ends its overdependence on international troops. He spoke Monday, one day after pro-al-Shabab media outlets in Somalia celebrated the fall of Afghanistan’s government to the Taliban.

Gulaid said that although al-Shabab does not possess the military power of the Taliban, he has no doubt nothing will stop them if they choose that path.

In April, Somali armed forces assumed a lead role in their operations, as laid out in a Somalia Transition Plan approved by the government and the African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM. The plan is a strategy in which AMISOM peacekeepers will gradually transfer security responsibilities to Somali security agencies before a pullout. The plan signed in 2018 includes a troop reduction.

Last month, the military said more than 250 al-Shabab militants had been killed during Somali military operations unaided by AMISOM.

Speaking during an interview with local media, the Somali president’s national security advisor, Abdi Said Ali, strongly rejected any comparison of the security situations in Mogadishu and Kabul, or the Somali military to Afghan forces.

He said al-Shabab and the Taliban are not the same regardless of people’s beliefs, adding that Somali armed forces are currently in control and responsible for security in most parts of the country with support from AMISOM peacekeepers.

Al-Shabab was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011 by Somali and AU forces but the group still conducts bombings and hit-and-run attacks. It has recently threatened to disrupt ongoing Somali elections, warning tribal delegates not to take part in the process.

Source: Voice of America

Mogadishu(SONNA)-Mogadishu is expecting to host the National Consultative Forum next Thursday after the Prime Minister held virtual session via zoom overnight, SONNA reported.

The Prime Minister and regional leaders’s meeting will focus on preparations for the upcoming elections of House of the People, completion of electoral procedures & the remaining fund for the elections.

Such talks come as most regional states concluded the election of the seats of upper house of the parliament.

The meeting is scheduled to happen Thursday on August 19, 2021

Source: Somali National News Agency

Forces belonging to the Africa Union Mission in Somalia have shot and killed seven civilians following an ambush by al-Shabab militants last week, a Somali governor told VOA Somali.

The governor of the Lower Shabelle region, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, said he confirmed through meetings with local residents that five farmers were among the civilians killed. Two other civilians whose vehicle broke down on the side of the road were also killed by the peacekeepers, he said. Nur said he personally knew one of the farmers.

The shootings took place near the village of Golweyn, about 100 kilometers south of Mogadishu, on August 10.

Somali and AU officials confirmed al-Shabab militants had ambushed the peacekeepers during a routine patrol near Golweyn. The soldiers engaged the militants in a heavy firefight lasting several hours. The attack took place in a farmland area about 2½ kilometers from Golweyn, Nur said in a telephone interview.

One AU soldier was killed; two others were injured, according to Nur.

It is not yet clear if the killing of the civilians occurred during or after the ambush. AU officials said they are investigating the incident.

In a tweet on the day of the attack, the African Union said that Ugandan troops on routine patrol “engaged and dislodged” an al-Shabab ambush.

“During the counterattack, 7 terrorists were killed while others sustained injuries and an assortment of weapons was recovered,” AMISOM said in a tweet. In the tweet, AMISOM said one of its soldiers sustained injuries. The tweet has since been deleted.

The following day, AMISOM issued a statement promising a thorough investigation.

“On August 10, 2021, soldiers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) while on a routine patrol to secure the Main Supply Route along the Beldamin-Golweyn Forward Operating Base in the Lower Shabelle region, were ambushed and attacked by Al-Shabab militants,” the AU said in a statement on August 11.

AMISOM said troops seized firearms, rounds of ammunition and mobile phones during the gunfight against al-Shabab.

“AMISOM has since received reports that civilian lives were lost,” the statement further read. “To this end, AMISOM has launched a thorough investigation into the reported incident. The investigation team will present its findings and this will be followed by a Board of Inquiry.”

AMISOM officials did not respond to VOA requests for comment.

Source: Voice of America

Mogadishu(SONNA)-Somali National Army on Monday destroyed the biggest terrorist hideout and captured new location in southern Mudug region, SONNA reported.

SNA and Galmudug Paramilitary forces managed to destroy the terrorists’ main base in the region where they used to organize bomb attacks.

There are no casualties on the joint forces, but on terrorists both death and injuries while fleeing livestock and other materials according to the Ministry of security for Galmudug state.

Source: Somali National News Agency