By Steve Balestrieri
Tuesday February 23, 2020
Photo of Danab Special Operations Unit: SNA
On Friday, the Somali National Army (SNA) conducted a large operation in the Lower Shabelle region that resulted in the killing of 50 al-Shabaab fighters, including two senior commanders. Regional military officials confirmed the results of the operation in speaking with the Anadolu News Agency.The SNA military operation against the Somali affiliate of the al-Qaeda terrorist group took place in Mushaani, Daniga, and Majabta, according to Somali military radio. The Somali government is increasing the pressure on the terrorist group in the region.
Local media carried pictures of the Danab Special Operations unit potentially indicating that Danab had carried out the operation, nonetheless this has not been confirmed yet.
Odawa Yusuf Rageh, the Army’s Chief of Staff, said on Friday that the SNA destroyed al-Shabaab training camps in local villages and that among the dead terrorists was Moalim Bukhari, the group’s intelligence chief in the
Lower Shabelle as well as Sheikh Hasan Ganeey, the commander in the region.
Although Somalia is reeling politically from the delayed presidential elections, the military is aggressively trying to counter the terrorist attacks that al-Shabaab conducts.
Nevertheless, the delayed election affects the nation’s stability and the outcome of this deadlock may cause a ripple effect on the social, political, and economic relations in the Horn of Africa.
On Thursday, in the Lower Shabelle region, the SNA conducted another large operation. The military said that it had received intelligence that the terrorist group’s members were active in the villages close to the towns of Qoryoley and Janale.
During the operation, the SNA killed 20 terrorists, including senior commanders, while several Somali soldiers were wounded in the fighting. The Somali troops had taken the strategically important town of Janale, which is about 60 miles southwest of the capital of Mogadishu, earlier in 2020 but al-Shabaab had moved back into the area.
Back in 2018, al-Shabaab was very active in the area and conducted several attacks on towns and villages, government bases, and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeeping forces.