DHUSAMAREB, Somalia – The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, arrived in Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug, on Sunday, where he was warmly welcomed.
The president of the Galmudug state, Ahmed Abdi Kariye Qorqor, and other officials from the government councils welcomed the president at the airport in Dhusamareb.
The purpose of the president’s trip was to speed up and complete the first phase of the operation against the Al-Shabaab that is currently underway in the Galmudug region.
President Hassan Sheikh spent two months in the city leading the fight against Al-Shabaab, and now it appears that the operations that have been on hold for a while will resume.
However, the country’s armed forces, with the help of residents and AFRICOM dislodged Al-Shabaab from many districts and areas that the group had ruled for more than 10 years.
In August 2022, Mohamud 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 group had seen public support deteriorate in those areas after it raised taxes on residents to make up for losses incurred from an economic downturn and natural disasters, disregarding the effects of the policy on people’s livelihoods.
The first stage was the most effective offensive since 2016, expelling al-Shabaab from areas it had controlled for over a decade, and in March 2023 the government launched phase two to attack al-Shabaab in the south.
However, concerns remain about Somalia’s ability to hold the areas it has cleared and take more territory given the planned drawdown of foreign troops and the fact that southern clans have not shown the same propensity to turn on al-Shabaab.
