SNA Forces: Forewarned of El-Dheer Assault, Crush Al-Shabaab
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MOGADISHU, Somalia – A senior commander revealed that the Somali National Army (SNA) had advanced intel on the thwarted operation in El-Dheer, mid-Somalia. The al-Shabaab extremists were subdued post-raid, he told state media.
These militants launched a surprise attack on strategically significant areas guarded by SNA troops. Alert soldiers countered, resulting in numerous militant fatalities, the commander stated.
Civilian-gathered information tipped off the army about the impending assault, allowing them to marshal their defenses and devise enemy-annihilation strategies, state media disclosed.
Positioned in El-Dheer, a commander informed SONNA that they had prepped for an offensive upon receiving the intel on Al-Shabaab’s planned attack.
Al-Shabaab, via a telegram post, unfoundedly declared the “takeover” of government military camps near the town. Independent sources, however, haven’t verified these claims.
Federal forces and local allies initially wrested control of the town from al-Shabaab in January 2023, amid intense military campaigns. Troops had withdrawn in August following the Awsweyne fiasco, only to return in December.
Saturday’s attempted base raid marks the first in months, as Somalia endeavours for stability after prolonged chaos. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed that al-Shabaab would be decisively dismantled in forthcoming months.
The US Africa Command and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) provide aid in these stabilization efforts. The group has relinquished key towns and rural zones over the past two years since the initial operation phase began.
AXADLETM
