Somali army takes control of key town from Al-Shabaab

The capture of Booco marks the latest gains against Al-Shabaab by the Somali government forces backed by locals who took arms to defend their locations from the militants.

News Keydmedia Online
20 September 2022

BELEDWEYNE, Somalia - The federal government forces along with the local self-organized militia known as Macawilsey have dislodged Al-Shabaab from strategic villages in central Somalia.

On Tuesday morning, the joint troops moved into Booco, a small town located approximately 40 kilometers south of Beledweyne, the headquarters of Hiran province after the militants fled.

Ali Jeyte Osman, the governor of the Hiran region, who is currently one of the leading officials of the war, confirmed to the local media that Booco was liberated from Al-Shabaab without a gunfight.

The chief of the country's military, Gen Odawaa Yusuf Rage confirmed yesterday that 75 Al-Shabaab members were killed in an operation carried out in the Yasooman area of ​​the same region.

The capture of Booco marks the latest gains against Al-Shabaab by the Somali government forces backed by locals who took arms to defend their locations from the militants.

In the past few days, the group lost several villages in Hiran and Galgadud regions to the allied forces. US military is providing air support to ground soldiers by bombing the Al-Shabaab hideouts.

Last month, Somali president Hassan Sheikh declared an all-out war against Al-Shabaab, days after the militants killed at least 21 people in a 30-hour siege at Hayat hotel in Mogadishu.

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