AU: Al-Shabaab facing imminent defeat in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The African Union believes recent actions by Al-Shabaab to bomb innocent civilians are triggered by the fact they have lost grip of their traditional strongholds, following a crackdown instigated by the Somali National Army [SNA] and their allies.

While condemning Sunday's Al-Shabaab attack in Villa Rays Hotel in Mogadishu, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] insisted the militants are facing imminent defeat thus "reckless and cowardly" attacks targeting innocent civilians across the country.

The ATMIS team lauded the Somali National Army [SNA] for its spirited operation against the militants across the country, which acknowledged support from the local militia who have equally played an indispensable role in neutralizing the militants.

"The barbaric attacks and sieges show that the terrorists have broken into the battlefields where the visiting Somali security forces continue to inflict heavy losses and recapture many areas that were previously occupied by the terrorists. have," said the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Council and Head of ATMIS, Ambassador Mohamed Al-Amin Seyf.

He added,: "These kinds of hostile attacks against innocent people once again underline the need for strong action against terrorism."

Ambassador Seyf praised the Somali security forces who fought hard to protect the lives of the people in the Villa Rays Hotel and sent his deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. He wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Across the borders, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, whose country is part of the Troops Contributing Countries [TCC], also condemned the Al-Shabaab attack at Villa Rays Hotel in Mogadishu, which left eight civilians and one security officer dead.

"We strongly condemn last night’s terrorist attack on the Villa Rose Hotel in Mogadishu," he said.

"This new outburst of violence is an abject reprehension of terrorists targeting innocent civilians, in the wake of bitter failures encountered on the ground, the continuation of combined offensives by armed and lively forces of the Somali sister nation."

Somalia has been battling Al-Shabaab for the last four months in what Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre says has left over 500 militants dead and several others injured.

This year alone, the United Nations reckons, the militants have killed 613 people in Somalia thus the urge to fight and defeat the group.

GAROWE ONLINE