Somalia and the United States have agreed to intensify security operations both ground and backed up airstrikes against ISIS and Al Qaeda affiliates Abnaa ul Calipha and al Shabaab respectively. The operations will flush the militants from their hideouts in various parts of the Horn of Africa Nation.
U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale met with Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire in Mogadishu where the pending onslaught among other things was discussed.
Washington and other international partner forces have intensified incursions into territory formerly controlled by al-Shabab after driving the insurgents out of Mogadishu in 2011. Since 2017, the U.S. military has stepped up air raids against al-Shabab which is trying to overthrow the internationally-backed Somali government.
The resolve is geared at preparing the Somali troops to take over after AMISOM’s exit. The collaboration will build capacity for the troops to handle the security of the East African nation. Al Shabaab and ISIS have control of swaths of rural areas and as such a stepped-up offensive will likely inflict great losses. Additionally, the resolution comes shortly after reports of an emergency meeting of al Shabaab’s top leadership in the Bay region.
