Monday August 22, 2022
Beledweyne (HOL) - A delegation led by Somalia's federal defence minister, Abdukadir Mohamed Nur, and the Commander of the Somali Armed Forces, General Odawa Yusuf Raage, arrived in Beledweyne, the capital of the Hiiraan region, on Sunday
The delegation, which included members of the Somali Parliament and other officials, was greeted by regional officials from the Hiran regional administration at the Ugas Khalifa airport in Beledweyne.
Ministry of Defence, SNA and regional security officials met with ATMIS at their military command centre in Eljaale.
The minister's visit to Beledweyne comes as the Somali National Armed Forces and the local militia known as the Macawiisleyda have been collaborating on anti-Al-Shabaab operations for the past two months.
El Lahelay village, located 20 kilometres north of Halgan district in the Hiiraan region, was liberated from Al Shabaab on Thursday by the SNA and regional militia. The most recent operation targeted Al-Shabaab positions in the Hiiraan region's north and east.