Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud mentioned army operations in opposition to al-Shabab is not going to cease till remaining victory is achieved.
He was talking Tuesday, a day after authorities troops retreated from a number of cities following a lethal al-Shabab assault on troopers in Cowsweyne village on Saturday.
“Whether or not one battlefield is misplaced or somebody spreads misinformation, the battle goes to proceed. It is not going to cease, we aren’t turning again from the place we’re,” he mentioned. “We are going to obtain the ultimate victory that we search. The significance is reaching a remaining victory. A remaining victory is close to.”
He praised authorities troopers who dislodged the militants from huge areas because the offensive was launched final 12 months, and paid tribute to these troopers and native fighters who participated within the operations.
“Al-Shabab right now is weaker, smaller in quantity,” he mentioned. “We’re extra skilled, extra in quantity, higher geared up, extra inspired, and we have now a victory which the enemy lacks. Victory is in our grasp.”
Mohamud denied al-Shabab’s declare that 178 troopers have been killed within the Cowsweyne assault. As a substitute, he mentioned that al-Shabab misplaced essentially the most and buried their useless in mass graves.
“The right details about Cowsweyne needs to be this conclusion — that the variety of troopers al-Shabab claimed to have killed is fake,” he mentioned, explaining that the group misplaced 190 fighters and buried them in mass graves.
“They’ve completed off their very own wounded, [because] they do not have hospitals, they do not have treatment for them,” he mentioned. “The military will attain these mass graves and examine them.”
Casualty claims by either side haven’t been independently verified.
Al-Shabab claims ‘historic victory’
The al-Shabab militant group claimed the assault on Cowsweyne was a “historic victory.”
Because of the assault, authorities forces retreated from 4 cities that al-Shabab claimed to have recaptured on Tuesday.
The previous president of Somalia, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, known as for an investigation into how army operations on the Cowsweyne frontline have been managed. He urged the parliamentary subcommittee for protection to research the assault.
Mohamud in his remarks promised to appropriate “errors” and vowed accountability.
“It is time to reward heroes among the many troopers; and to carry these abusing their duties, dedicated treason or undermining the military accountable,” he mentioned.
He promised that any errors made by a soldier, an officer, or anyone else can be corrected.
Al-Shabab official surrenders
In the meantime, the Somali authorities on Tuesday displayed a mid-level al-Shabab official who surrendered to authorities forces close to the city of Wisil in Mudug area.
The minister of inside, federal affairs and reconciliation, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, recognized the official as Nur Abdullahi Maalinguur, also called Nur Deeq.
Fiqi mentioned Nur Deeq was the commander of al-Shabab militias within the Mudug space and was concerned in heavy battles within the area.
Nur Deeq additionally used to make threatening telephone calls to the enterprise communities, conventional elders and different group members, Fiqi mentioned.
Somali intelligence companies mentioned al-Shabab commanders name companies and different group members to demand donations, extortions and different contributions to their battle.
“This give up implies that al-Shabab morale is low, and a thorn has been faraway from Mudug,” Fiqi posted on his Fb web page.