The Heads of State of the Horn of Africa met Wednesday in Somalia for a summit on the strategy to fight against the radical Islamists Al-Shabaab, who continue to launch regular attacks despite a recent offensive by pro-government forces.
Somali President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud welcomed Wednesday morning in the capital Mogadishu his Djiboutian and Kenyan counterparts, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh and William Ruto, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The city of Mogadishu was placed under close surveillance, with traffic restrictions and soldiers on patrol, noted an AFP journalist. Commercial flights were also suspended on Wednesday.
This regional summit aims to “discuss ways of coping together” with the armed insurrection of Shebab which has lasted for fifteen years, the Somali government had indicated in a press release on Tuesday.
“We hope that this collaboration will make it possible to quickly liberate the country from the renegades (the Shebab, editor’s note) who have suffered heavy losses on the ground in recent weeks”, he added.
The Somali president has announced that he wants to wage a “total war” against the Shebab, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, who have been leading an insurrection since 2007 against the Somali federal government supported by the international community.
Driven out of the main cities of the country in 2011-2012, they remain firmly established in vast rural areas and carry out deadly attacks in Somalia and neighboring countries.
In September, Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud sent the army to support local militias, known as “macawisley”, which revolted against the Al-Shabaab. This offensive, supported by the African Union force in Somalia (Atmis) and American airstrikes, made it possible to reconquer vast territories in the center of the country.
The Somali army notably announced on January 17 that it had taken over, without a fight, the port of Harardhere, controlled since 2010 by the Shebab, in a victory described as “historic”.
But the Shebab continue to carry out bloody attacks, underlining their ability to strike at the heart of Somali cities and military installations.
On October 29, two car bombs exploded in Mogadishu, killing 121 people and injuring 333 others, in the country’s deadliest attack in five years.
The president announced that new contingents of Somali soldiers, trained in Eritrea, would soon be deployed as part of the anti-Shebab operations.