MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Somali army in collaboration with their allied foreign forces [US] carried out a joint operation in the village of Helo Baad in the central Hiran region.
The army sources said more than 60 Al-Shabaab members in the area which lies between the towns of Halgan and Baledweyne, the regional capital of Hiran, which is hit by floods.
The hours-long offensive saw the troops destroy the positions of the Al-Shabaab group in the village, which is now freed from the militants, according to the villagers.
The operation follows intensified military push against Al-Shabaab which controls few areas in the region after the majority were liberated last year during the first phase of the war.
The former Hiran governor Ali Jeyte Osman announced that they will launch an air and ground attack on the places where the Al-Shabaab group is located in the central region.
In August 2022, Somalia launched a “total war” against al-Shabaab. In the first phase, Somali forces concentrated on the central regions of Hirshabelle and Galmudug, supporting local clans that were rebelling against al-Shabaab.
The first stage was the most effective offensive since 2016, expelling al-Shabaab from areas it had controlled for over a decade, and the government is set to start phase two to attack al-Shabaab in the south.
Though the government offensive has weakened al-Shabaab’s hold on territory, it has not stopped the group’s attacks. In 2022, there was a 41 percent increase in al-Shabaab violence targeting civilians.
