MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud convened an emergency meeting with military top brass on Thursday, hours after militants captured the fifth town in just a week reversing gains made by government troops in a two-year-long offensive.
Mohamud commended efforts by the army to fight insurgents but told military officials that they would be held accountable for the frequent loss of hard-won gains, his office said.
Al-Shabaab militants said on Thursday that they had captured the town of Xinlebi in Galgadud region, days after retaking the towns of Amara, Caad, Ba’adwayne and Masagawa in the central state of Galmudug.
Last year, Mohamud vowed that his government would “liberate” Hirshabelle and Galmudug states from Al-Shabaab within just two weeks. In an interview with Al Jazeera, the President also promised that authorities will eliminate insurgents in three months. A year on, an Al-Shabaab counter-offensive now seems to have put government troops on the back foot.
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