MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has moved out of Galmudug presidential palace in the central town of Dhusamareb, where he has been overseeing military operations against Al-Shabaab in Mudug and Galgadud regions for the last three months, Caasimada Online news website reported on Tuesday.
Three planes carrying the president’s belongings, his office equipment and staff departed from Dhusamareb en-route to the capital Mogadishu on Monday.
Mohamud is expected to travel to the United Kingdom where he will attend a meeting with members of the Horn of Africa country’s international partners on efforts to support his government in the ongoing fight against Islamist insurgents.
After the trip, he is likely to set up a new base in the town of Baidoa where the second phase of operations against Al-Shabaab are expected to begin. The President traveled to the town and the nearby town of Hudur in Bakol region last week to assess the possibility of opening a new front against insurgents.
During his stay in the central regions, the army suffered significant setbacks in Al-Shabaab counter-attacks, including an assault on Oswayne base that left hundreds of soldiers dead. As a result, troops vacated nearly all the towns captured during a year-long offensive in Galgadud region, bringing government plans to make the region an area “free from terrorists” to an abysmal failure.
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