Islamists have been fighting since 2007 the federal government supported by the international community. Driven from the main cities, they remain located in large rural areas.
mo12345lemonde with AFP
Ten civilians were killed Tuesday, February 21 in Somalia on Tuesday, February 21 in an attack claimed by radical Islamists Chabab in the capital, the government announced. Around 3 pm, Chabab “attacked a house in the abdiaziz district”, north of Mogadishu, according to a government statement, adding that three people were injured. The Somali security forces “rescued and extracted many civilians from this house and in the surrounding buildings,” according to the authorities, who said that the four attackers were killed.
The attack was claimed by the Chabab, a group affiliated with Al-Qaida. A soldier on the scene, Mohamed Ali, told the France-Presse agency that the attackers “stormed the building after exploding the main door”. The Chabab “attack the houses of civilians after being defeated on the battlefield,” he continued.
“Total war”
The Chabab has been fighting the federal government since 2007, supported by the international community. Driven from the main cities of the country in 2011 and 2012, they remain established in large rural areas. The president, Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud, returned to power in May 2022, promised them a “total war”. This offensive, supported by the force of the African Union in Somalia (atmis) and American air attacks, has made it possible to reconquer large territories of two states in the center of the country, the Hirshabelle and the Galmudu.
The government said at the beginning of December 2022 that he took over Adan Yabal, an emblematic locality of the Hirshabelle held by the Chabab since 2016 and presented as a “training ground” and a logistical node of the insurgents. On January 16, the army announced that it had taken up without fighting Harardhere, a port city 500 kilometers north of Mogadishu and checked since 2010 by the Chabab. The government had assured that the resumption of this “strategic” city constituted a “historic victory”. The authorities had announced on the same day the resumption of the city of Galcad, still without fight.
cars trapped
Chabab nevertheless continue to carry out bloody attacks in retaliation, striking at the heart of cities and military facilities. On January 20, seven soldiers were killed during an attack on a camp claimed by the Chabab. On October 29, 2022, two trapped cars had exploded in Mogadishu, killing 121 people and injuring 333 others, making it the deadliest attack of the last five years.
At the beginning of October, a triple attack in Beledweyne (center), the main city of the Hiiraan region, had left 30 dead, including local officials. In August, at least 21 customers of a Hotel in Mogadishu had been killed in a spectacular assault of thirty hours.
The president announced that new contingents of Somali soldiers, trained in Eritrea, would be deployed soon.