Dina Mahmoud (Mogadishu, London)
As the campaign launched by the Somali government against the Al-Shabaab terrorist movement linked to Al-Qaeda enters its second year, security experts have warned that the field successes achieved during the first 12 months, and their pace accelerating recently, do not negate the continuing challenges, which… Faced by the forces participating in it.
The experts stressed that the gains over the past few days included controlling areas in Galmudug state in central Somalia, including Hinlabi, Sarjo and Qadqad, should not push government authorities to underestimate the danger that Al-Shabaab terrorists still pose to the campaign. And on security in the country in general.
These risks are increasing, according to experts, as Somali forces and tribal militants intensify their efforts to regain control over more vital areas, as part of government efforts to expand the scope of the military campaign, which was launched in August last year.
In this context, experts highlighted the recent success of the authorities in thwarting a suicide attack that the Al-Shabaab movement attempted to carry out with a car bomb in the Mudug region in the center of the country, against a local official and two members of parliament, one day before it confronted another attack launched by the movement against Army forces, in Galmudug.
In late August, the Somali army and its allies imposed control on the town of Ail Bor, which was described as the main stronghold of Al-Shabaab in the center of the country. It is the town that terrorists have used to launch attacks in various parts for at least 16 years.
However, despite Somali military and security officials announcing that Al-Shabaab militants are now fleeing in large numbers from some of their former strongholds, including villages in the Mudug region, and their confirmation that more than 100 of them have surrendered over the past two months, observers of Somali affairs confirm that the history of The confrontation between the government and Al-Shabaab requires everyone to be careful in anticipating the results of future confrontations.
Somali and Western security experts expressed their fears that the gradual withdrawal of the African Union forces (ATMS) from Somalia will encourage the terrorist movement to escalate its attacks, whether inside or outside the country.
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