Ethiopian army delivers shipments to Somalia traversing dangerous routes filled with IEDs

BAIDOA, Somalia - The Ethiopian Defense Force and the African Union’s Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have announced that the Ethiopian army has successfully delivered shipments of military logistics and equipment to Baidoa in the South-West state of Somalia in its first-ever cross-border shipment, traversing the dangerous route filled with land mines and explosives allegedly planted by Al-Shabaab.

In a joint statement, the Defense force and AMISOM issued on Wednesday, the successful convoy to deliver the military logistics to AMISOM is a landmark achievement that boosts the confidence of both the local armed forces as well as AMISOM.

According to the Defense Force, the shipment – the first of three phases – has been carried out over the weekend through the dangerous routes, particularly from Dolo Ado areas of Ethiopia crossing into the other side in Western Somalia, which had been under the control of the Islamic extremists that have been terrorizing Somalia and the entire region for longer than a decade.

In the wake of the weekend’s successful mission, Chief Commander of the AMISOM force, Lieutenant General Tigabu Yilma, along with the East Regiment Commander of the Ethiopian Armed Forces, and other senior military commanders and officers, have held a meeting to evaluate and review the mission in Baidoa.

During the meeting, the Lt. Gen. said: “In addition to being a cross-border mission, it came after the mission’s overall deployment was restructured and has been coordinated in collaboration with the Air Force which eventually delivered a successful victory.”

“The achievement has brought not only pride to Ethiopia, but also motivates and encourages the AMISOM force in general,” he said.

The Commander of the East Regiment of Ethiopian Armed Force, Major General Zewdu Belay, on his part explained that the convoy has passed the most difficult route which includes land mines planted by Al-Shabaab as well as possible ambush attacks.

“Having smashed all the prevailing human-made and naturally existing challenges, we have managed to deliver the convoy to its target point,” Belay said adding, “Hence, this has demonstrated the determination and capability of our troops, proving its strength and quality withstanding any challenges in any condition to discharge its mission.”

He also highlighted that before the shipments of the convoy, the troop’s anti-explosive engineers successfully foiled more than 58 explosives planted by Al-Shabaab.

He further praised the execution of plans and strategies that have been carried out before the shipment activities that “Indeed proved the quality information flow among the chain of command and troop marching.”

“This is purely a collective achievement that has resulted in a winning recipe, showcasing our armed force’s psychological and physical competence to discharge any kind of mission,” Belay said.

In a related development, Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces of Ethiopia, Birhanu Julla, announced on Wednesday that an isolated quarantine facility has been prepared to host members of the defense force who are coming from abroad.

Birhanu told senior army officials during a video conference, the management of the armed forces has heightened security and health measures, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among members of the armed forces and civilian employees under the Ministry of Defense.

He further indicated that it has been exploiting all available means to deliver the necessary protection equipment and protective gear to meet the entire demand of the members of the military force, both at home and overseas, where Ethiopian troops engage in international peace missions.

During the video conference, Birhanu further disclosed that an executive order has already been sent to all the regiments to heighten security surveillance and control all border entries to contain cross-border movements by citizens and any activities of human trafficking.

He said that such measures were undertaken as part of the national emergency activity that has been undertaken to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Source: The reporter