Wednesday December 28, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - SNA Chief General Odawa Yusuf Rageh believes that the Eritrean-trained Somali soldiers' return will significantly boost the ongoing military offensive against Al-Shabaab.
Speaking to VOA Somali Service, the general said that current military operations against Al-Shabaab are going exceedingly well, adding that SNA units and allied clan militias have liberated nearly all districts in central Somalia's Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle.
Odawa declined to say whether the SNA was mobilizing to direct the offensive to southern regions, including Jubaland and the South West States.
General Odawa said he was confident in the SNA's capabilities, particularly in diffusing IEDs. He said that special SNA units gained invaluable experience in recent years, and as a result, the threat has significantly decreased.
IED attacks have become a hallmark of Al Shabaab's decade-long insurgency in Somalia.
A bomb explosion in Southern Somalia killed a top intelligence official at the forefront of the offensive in early December. Days later, authorities in Jowhar confirmed that two people, including an airport manager, were killed in a landmine blast outside the city.