Today, Tuesday, the Somali authorities imposed strict security measures in Mogadishu on the eve of a regional summit, during which the leaders of a number of countries in the region will discuss ways to confront the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement.
The Somali government said, in a statement, that the leaders of a number of member states of the African Union force, which supports the Somali forces, “will discuss ways to confront together” the atrocities committed by these terrorists in the region.
“We hope that this cooperation will enable the country to be quickly liberated from the rebels, who have suffered heavy losses on the ground in recent weeks,” she added.
The Somali Ministry of Information said, in a statement, that the defense ministers of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya arrived in Mogadishu, where they held a preparatory meeting for the summit on Tuesday.
In its statement, the Somali government said that traffic in the capital would be subject to severe restrictions during the summit.
For his part, Hassan Yari, an employee of an airline company, said that flights to and from Mogadishu will be suspended during the summit, with the exception of “planes carrying VIPs,” which “will be allowed during these two days.”
In recent months, the Somali army, with the support of local tribal militias, was able to control large swaths of land in the center of the country, in an operation that received air support from the US military and the African Union force in Somalia.
This force, which in the past was called AMISOM and today has 20,000 soldiers, has a more offensive mandate than its predecessor.
It is scheduled to gradually reduce the number of this African force so that, by the end of 2024, the Somali army and police forces will take over all security responsibilities in the country.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who returned to power last May, threatened Al-Shabaab with a “total war”.
And in September, the Somali president sent the army, including special forces, to support local militias fighting terrorists.
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