A delegation led by Gedo security officials arrived in Beledhawo district and was received warmly by SNA’s 43rd Division Commander Colonel Osman Haji Ahmed and other senior military officials.
General Jamal Hassan, the regional director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), led the delegation, which included other senior security officials.
The reception was followed by a meeting where they discussed the overall security situation in the region, information on Al-Shabaab locations in the region, and the status of ongoing mobilization to carry out an offensive against Al-Shabaab in the region.
The officials agreed to step up preparations in response to President Hassan Sheikh’s call to begin the second phase of military operations against Al-Shabaab in the country.
The meeting comes amid ongoing military training for hundreds of Gedo soldiers slated to take part in the region’s upcoming offensive against Al-Shabaab.
The president of Jubaland Ahmed Madobe has insisted that his forces are determined to liberate the state from the jaws of Al-Shabaab, a group that has been causing havoc in Somalia for over a decade.
During his recent trip to Kumbale, Eelcad, Canjeel, Harboole, and Jana-Abdalle which had been under the control of Al-Shabaab for a long time, Madobe said the regional forces will also ensure there is normalcy in all liberated areas around the state, with the installation of the civilian rule being on top of his priority list.
Kenya Defense Forces component and that from Ethiopian National Defense Forces are stationed in some areas within Jubaland.
Last year, the US Africa Command redeployed about 500 soldiers to Somalia over 12 months after Washington repositioned them elsewhere and President Joe Biden has insisted that the US is keen to see the fall of Al-Shabaab.
The United States is also targeting financiers and revenue sources of the group.
The second phase of operations against Al-Shabaab has been launched. During the first phase, the government claimed over 3000 militants were killed and 3,700 others critically injured.
