AU peacekeepers, Somali army launch all-out offensive against al-Shabaab

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) said Tuesday that its Burundi and Uganda contingent carried out a joint military offensive with the Somali National Army (SNA) along with local volunteers that inflicted heavy casualties on al-Shabaab terrorists.

The operation took place in a forest near the village of Ali Foldhere in the southern province of Middle Shabelle.

In a statement Tuesday, ATMIS said the successful operation was followed by days of an all-out ground and artillery offensive that aimed to flush out the terrorists from their hideout in the forest.

The forest has over the years become a strategic location for the terrorists where they plan deadly attacks and conceal ammunition including vehicles for vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), according to ATMIS Force Commander Lt Gen. Sam Okiding.

“ATMIS and SNA forces are currently holding the seized grounds and clearing small pockets of Al-Shabaab in areas located north of Mahaday district in the Middle Shabelle region of Hirshabelle state,” the statement said.

Complimenting the joint forces for a successful offensive against the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, the head of the African Union Transition Mission, Ambassador Mohamed El-Amine Souef, said the peacekeeping mission is fully committed to implementing the Somali Transition Plan, which will culminate in the transfer of security responsibilities to the Somali security forces.

The joint operation comes less than 10 days after Somalia asked the UN Security Council for a three-month delay in the planned drawdown of ATMIS after setbacks in the fight against the terrorist group.

Mogadishu's request to the Security Council stemmed from the pressing need to address significant challenges and profound implications for Somalia's security transition.

The second phase of the AU peacekeeping mission drawdown aimed to pull out 3,000 of its peacekeepers from Somalia from last month.

But the unforeseen turn of events has stretched “our military forces thin, exposed vulnerabilities in our frontlines, and necessitated a thorough reorganization to ensure we maintain our momentum in countering the al-Shabaab threat,” said a letter Somalia sent to the UN Security Council.

The Somali government was accused of breaking diplomatic protocol since it bypassed the African Union and directly addressed its request for the three-month delay to the UN.

Somalia said the proposed 90-day suspension of the drawdown would be invaluable in achieving these objectives.

The first batch of 2,000 peacekeeping troops left the country earlier this year as part of the Somalia Transition Plan, a guide developed by the Somali government and its partners to transfer security responsibility to the Somali Armed Forces.

ATMIS is a multidimensional mission authorized by the African Union and mandated by the UN Security Council to operate in the nation since 2007.

The force aims to assist the Somali government in its fight against the al-Shabaab terror group.