The return of Eritrean-trained Somali soldiers, according to SNA Chief General Odawa Yusuf Rageh, will considerably strengthen the ongoing military offensive against Al-Shabaab.
The general told VOA Somali Service that current military operations against Al-Shabaab are going extremely well, and that SNA units and allied clan militias have liberated practically all areas in Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle in central Somalia.
Odawa refused to answer whether the SNA was preparing to launch an operation against southern territories such as Jubaland and the South West States.
General Odawa expressed confidence in the SNA’s capabilities, particularly in the prevention of IEDs. He claimed that special SNA units gained tremendous expertise in recent years, and that as a result, the threat has dropped dramatically.
IED attacks have become a defining feature of Al Shabaab’s decade-long Somali struggle.
In early December, a bomb exploded in Southern Somalia, killing a prominent intelligence official at the vanguard of the offensive. Days later, authorities in Jowhar reported that two individuals were killed in a landmine blast outside the city, including an airport manager.