The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia and the Somali National Armed Forces have disclosed that they had killed a number of Al-Shabaab terrorists who attacked their camp recently.
Previous week, on Friday, militants invaded the peacekeepers’ Forward Operating Base in Buulo Mareer, around 120 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu in the Lower Shabelle region, killing over 100 personnel. There has been no clear report issued to describe the magnitude of soldier and military equipment losses during the attack.
However, in a statement posted this morning on Twitter by ATMIS, the force claims to have successfully pursued and killed the fleeing Al-Shabaab terrorists. They additionally indicated that some of the weapons seized from the base have been recovered. The force has also pledged to
fight terrorism and collaborate closely with the Somali federal government, federal member states, and foreign partners to safeguard Somalia.
However, in a statement posted this morning on Twitter by ATMIS, the force claims to have successfully pursued and killed the fleeing Al-Shabaab terrorists. They additionally indicated that some of the weapons seized from the base have been recovered.
“The force has also pledged to fight terrorism and collaborate closely with the Somali federal government, federal member states, and foreign partners to safeguard Somalia”, ATMIS tweeted
The Somali government has gained ground in its war with the Islamist insurgency Al-Shabaab, mainly in central Somalia. Most of the progress is due to Mogadishu’s leveraging of local discontent with Al-Shabaab to form alliances with clan militias.
The joint campaign has dislodged militants from a swathe of territory in the centre of the country, reestablishing the government’s presence in regions that Al-Shabaab had controlled for a decade or more. Troops are now planning to move into the insurgency’s southern bastions.
In a statement on March 25, Ministry of Information said that 3,000 al-Shabab militants were killed and 3,700 more were injured in the first phase of military operations between August of last year and January. The government also said 70 towns and villages have been liberated from al-Shabab.
Despite setbacks, al Shabaab remains a resilient and destabilizing threat in Somalia. In the past year, it was linked to 2,553 violent events and 6,225 fatalities. This represents nearly a doubling in the number of incidents since 2019. Fatalities involving al Shabaab have increased by 120
percent during this period.
