Military changes in Somali army on way to ending Al-Shabaab’s presence

Ahmed Adel

There is a major development in the war that Somalia is waging to end the presence of the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement on its territory, as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made limited changes in the military leadership of the army forces.

Limited changes

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud issued a presidential decree dismissing the Deputy Chief of Staff, General Abbas Amin, and the Commander of the Infantry Forces, General Ahmed Adam, and appointing General Nour Mohamed Al-Sheikh as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, while Colonel Dih Abdi Abdullah assumed command of the infantry.

President Mohamud expressed his unlimited confidence in the new military leadership with the aim of advancing the ongoing operation against Al-Shabaab in the south and center of the country.

These changes come as the Somali president follows the army’s movements in the process of liberating the states of Galmudug and Hirshabelle from Al-Shabaab elements and halts all other work to focus on the military operation.

Officers arrested

Two weeks ago, President Mohamud announced that several military officers responsible for evacuating areas in eastern Galgadud had been arrested, which led to a setback for the army’s ongoing operations in the state for an additional month.

In June, the Somali Council of Ministers appointed General Ahmed Adam Ali as the new commander of the infantry forces, succeeding General Mohamed Bihi, but he was dismissed by presidential decree three months after his appointment.

In August 2022, the Somali government launched a military operation against Al-Shabaab, which resulted in the liberation of dozens of areas that were strongholds for the organization.

Administrative and field challenges

For his part, Mohamed Ezzedine, a researcher of African affairs, said that the new military changes in Somalia are in line with the interim goals required by the military operation against Al-Shabaab, which is close to al-Qaeda.

He confirmed in a special statement to the Reference that administrative and field challenges led to these emergency changes, and that they are part of the follow-up and control process in the current war.

Ezzedine pointed out that the new leadership must demonstrate the level of confidence placed in it by the president at the current stage, which requires cunning, wise leadership, and quick victories in the field, adding that it is necessary for the fighting fronts to expand in the coming weeks in line with new strategic goals that the government is developing. Somalia’s fight against terrorism consists of expanding the circle of participation of the popular resistance in the fighting, expanding the scope of international air support, and restoring the areas from which the army withdrew weeks ago.