General Dahir Adan Elmi was appointed
commander-in-chief of the Somali National Army in a ceremony in
Mogadishu on Wednesday (March 13th), with General Abdirisaq Khalif
Hussein as his deputy, Somalia's Shabelle Media Network reported.
Former army chief commander General Abdukadir Sheikh Diini and his
deputy General Abdikarim Yusuf Aden Dhagabadan retired honourably from
their duties.
In their farewell addresses, Diini and Dhagabadan thanked the federal
government for its effective co-operation in the fight against
al-Shabaab.
Security forces made significant gains against al-Shabaab under the
outgoing generals' tenure, with the militants forced out of large areas
of Somalia.