BARAWE [SMN] – The speaker of the Lower House Chamber of the Federal Parliament Sheikh Aden Madobe touched down in Barawe, an ancient coastal city in the Lower Shabelle region on Tuesday.
Madobe and his delegation received a cordial welcome from the president of Southwest State Abdulaziz Lafta-Garen upon arrival at Barawe airstrip, according to regional officials.
The visiting House speaker and Lafta-Garen hold talks in the city on the current situation and plan to mobilize an anti-Al-Shabaab push in the province, which is a hotbed of terror.
AU forces and SNA troops were deployed to the main streets to ensure security during the visit by the Somali parliament speaker, who hails from the Southwest State of Somalia.
The Somali government with the backing of African Union forces captured the key city from Al-Shabaab in 2014. The group ruled the town for six years and used it as a base to launch attacks on the capital.
Barawe is now housing African Union forces [ATMIS] and is strategically important for al-Shabab as a route to get their supplies from Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab encircled the city.
