Wednesday August 13, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia’s defense minister and army chief
have agreed with the head of the African Union Support and Stabilization
Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) to strengthen coordination and accelerate military
operations against al-Shabaab across the country.
Defense Minister Ahmed Macalin Fiqi and Somali National Army
Commander Maj. Gen. Odowaa Yusuf Raage met Monday in Mogadishu with AUSSOM head
Ambassador El Hadji Ibrahima Diene and other mission officials on Tuesday.
Discussions focused on implementing Somalia’s security transition plan and
doubling operations against the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in multiple regions.
Fiqi thanked AUSSOM for its role in supporting Somalia’s
security and stabilization efforts. Ambassador Diene, who took up his post only
days ago, pledged that the mission would “accelerate the fight against
al-Shabaab and eliminate it from Somalia as a whole.”
The meeting came shortly after Somali forces, backed by
Ugandan troops from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS),
recaptured the strategic town of Bariire in the Lower Shabelle region from
al-Shabaab.
The militant group has been waging an armed campaign in
Somalia since 2007, targeting government forces, African Union troops, and
civilians with suicide bombings, assassinations, and armed assaults.