Ethiopian officials visit Somalia ahead of anti-Al-Shabaab push

BELEDWEYNE, Somalia - Top officials from the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] and Somali regional state have visited Somalia ahead of the Al-Shabaab crackdown, with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud expected to launch the second phase of operations at Adan Yabal village on Sunday [today] days after the completion of the first one.

Among those in the delegation include Major General Tesfaye Ayalew and General Haji who arrived in Beledweyne, the capital of the Hiran region, on Saturday. Ethiopia dispatched additional troops to Somalia recently but they will not be absorbed into the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] based on the agreement.

Top officials both from regional and federal governments joined the military delegation which is set to visit Ethiopian army officers who are already in Somalia. The governor of the Shabelle region within the Somali region of Ethiopia Adan Ahmed Sooyan also accompanied the military officers to the country.

Sources say the delegation is set to check on the preparedness of the Ethiopian army in the impending second phase of operations against Al-Shabaab. Hassan Sheikh reached out to the governments of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti requesting military assistance in the war against Al-Shabaab.

ENDF troops are stationed in Hiiraan where they are set to participate in the second phase of the Al-Shabaab crackdown. The government of Somalia recently announced that over 3000 militants were killed in the first phase with 3,700 others said to have been critically injured.

At Mogadishu, President William Ruto 9f Kenya, Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, and Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pledged to deploy more soldiers to Somalia to help combat the militants. The group has already lost strategic towns across the country and the government has embarked on a serious mission to establish civilian administrations in liberated towns.

Last year, Al-Shabaab militants attempted to cross over to Ethiopia through Dolow but a strong Ethiopian National Defense Forces managed to overwhelm them, killing thousands in the process.

The government of Ethiopia just like its neighbor Kenya has increased surveillance along the border to help prevent possible infiltration by Al-Shabaab.

GAROWE ONLINE