Thursday February 9, 2023
MOGADISHU, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Somalian and the African Union officials on Thursday expressed satisfaction with the ongoing military offensive against al-Shabab and lauded the progress made in restoring peace and security in the country.
Somalian Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Daud Aweis, and Mohammed El-Amine Souef, the special representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson for Somalia and head of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), said several terrorists have now surrendered to the government in HirShabelle, Galmudug, and South West.
In a joint statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, Aweis said that the surrendered terrorists will go through a rehabilitation process before being allowed to rejoin the society.
The minister noted that following the tremendous progress made in restoring peace and security, Somalia was now on the verge of taking its place in the international community. "The government would also like to announce that huge progress has been made in weakening the financial strength of al-Shabab. We thank the people for supporting the government," he said.
The government said on Jan. 14 that it has closed 250 bank accounts used by al-Shabab extremists as it tightens the militant group's funding sources, and mobile money accounts linked with al-Shabab to fund terror activities in the country have also been canceled.
Aweis said the ongoing military operations to degrade al-Shabab militants from their strongholds will be intensified across the country.
He announced that Parliament had already passed a National Act establishing the National Intelligence Security Agency (NISA) that will improve intelligence gathering and play a key role in the fight against al-Shabab.
Souef commended ATMIS and Somali security forces for providing security during the recently concluded reconciliation conference and ensuring that peace prevails in Baidoa.
"This is the kind of joint planning and collaboration we are seeking to forge that will enable us to transfer security responsibilities to Somali security forces by December 2024," Souef said.
The two senior officials agreed to advance the case of Somalia during the upcoming African Union Annual Summit to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 15-19 and reiterated the importance of close collaboration between ATMIS and Somalia in eliminating al-Shabab and its allies.
"Al-Shabab has not yet disappeared. We still have a lot of work to do and I am confident that the new partnership and resolve of the government will be critical in delivering more milestones," Souef added