You'll never break us, Somalia tells Al-Shabaab as police commander survives

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The federal government of Somalia has fired warning shots at Al-Shabaab militants just hours after an attack targeting top police commander, in the latest violence mooted by the Al-Qaeda linked group, which has been wreaking havoc across East Africa.

On Saturday, the terror group took responsibility for the attack near Banadir junction, which left five police guards dead, with the police commander, Colonel Farhan Mohamud Adan alias Qarole, surviving the deadly attack.

The group often targets senior government officials, security forces, and at times innocent civilians in their cowardly attacks across the country. The group is keen to topple the fragile UN-backed Somalia administration.

In a statement, FGS said, "The terrorist group al-Shabaab has once again failed to tear down the Somali people with their insidious attacks." The government has been working hard through Somali National Army [SNA] to crush the militants.

In the morning of July 10th, at approximately 1030 am, al-Shabaab targeted Colonel Farhan Mohamud Qarole with an improvised explosive device where 4 civilians were killed and 9 others injured. The attempt on Colonel Qarole’s life, like everything al-Shabaab does, was met with failure. Colonel Qarole is alive and doing very well, FGS said.

“The only thing al-Shabaab terrorist and criminals know is violence, however, the Somali people will not let them destroy what we have worked so hard to create. With every vicious attack, al-Shabaab perpetrates on the Somali people, it makes us stronger in the fight against them," information minister Osman Abukar Dubbe said.

"Al-Shabaab will never break our will, never break our spirit and never take Somalia from us. Just like Colonel Qarole, Somalia will live to fight another day. Somalia will never stop fighting al-Shabaab until we are free from their persecution and violence," he added.

The attack came at the time the country is busy preparing for elections, which are set to kick off on July 25 across the five states and Somaliland. Security issues have been a matter of concern, but the African Union Mission Forces [AMISOM] have pledged to give security.

Al-Shabaab militants control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia, but have in recent months lost a number of territories following sustained operations by the SNA troops. The group, however, is in action in several parts of the country and collects taxes for sustainability.

This comes as Puntland and Galmadug signed a pact that would enable them to fight the militants in the Mudug region, which is prone to Al-Shabaab attacks. The US, UK, and Turkey have been training Somali troops who will, later on, take over security responsibilities once the foreign troops leave at the end of 2021.

GAROWE ONLINE