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Just when the Somali government thought it had won over the jihadists by capturing strategic coastal towns, Islamist Shebab militants on Tuesday seized a military base north of the Somali capital in a deadly attack. attacked.
Various sources provide conflicting figures on the number of soldiers killed in the attack on the Howardley military camp, about 60 kilometers north of Mogadishu.
On state radio, Army Secretary Odowar Yusuf Reiji said five soldiers, including an officer, “died a martyr” in the attack.
A commander of a government-aligned militia near Howardley, contacted by AFP, said 11 soldiers were killed.
“The jihadists first blew up vehicles laden with explosives and then attacked military camps in Howardley,” the commander, Mohamed Osman, said by phone.
The attack was claimed by Shebab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group.
Also read: Somalia: Four killed in hotel siege hit by Shibab
Howardley Base was recaptured from Shibab in October 2022 by militias from allied clans fighting government forces and jihadists.
On Monday, Somali forces recaptured Haraldea, a port city deemed “strategic” by authorities, located about 500 kilometers north of the capital and controlled by Shibab since 2010. The government called the recapture a “historic victory”.
Shebab has been fighting the internationally backed federal government since 2007. From 2011 to 2012 he was forced out of the country’s main cities, but they remain firmly entrenched in vast rural areas.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who returned to power in May 2022, has promised an “all-out war” against Islamist groups and recently called its members “bed bugs.”
In September, the president sent troops, including special forces, to support local militias known as “macawisley” who rebelled against Shibab.
read more: Somalia Benefits Against Alshebab Militants
The offensive, aided by African Union forces in Somalia (Atomis) and US airstrikes, recaptured large areas of the two central provinces, Hirschabel and Garmudug.
– Retaliation –
In particular, in early December, the government claimed to have recaptured Adhan Yabal, the iconic Hilshabel district held by Shibab since 2016, touted as a “training ground” and logistics hub for rebels in the area. .
But Shibab has continued its bloody retaliatory strikes, highlighting its ability to hit Somali cities and centers of military installations.
In early January, two car bombs exploded in the central town of Mahas, killing 19 people.
On October 29, two car bombs exploded in Mogadishu, killing 121 people and injuring 333. It was the deadliest attack in five years in the Horn of Africa country, which has suffered a historic drought.
In early October, 30 people, including local officials, were killed in three attacks in the central city of Beredwayne, the capital of Hiran province. At least 21 of his guests were killed in his 30-hour brutal assault at a Mogadishu hotel in August.
The president announced that a new detachment of Somali soldiers trained in Eritrea would soon be deployed in the anti-Shibab operation.
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