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There were no casualties resulting from the plane crash. Authorities said the crew is safe and they were investigating the incident which halted airport operations as all flights have been canceled.

The group said most of the soldiers were operating in the Beledweyne and Jalalaqsi districts of the Hiran region under the HirShabelle administration.

For his part, a member of the outgoing Somali parliament Mahad Salad said ASWJ left Guriel city at the request of the local business community, rejecting claims that Galmudug extended an olive branch to them.

Local residents told Keydmedia English that heavily Al-Shabaab fighters in battle-wagons were amassing on the outskirts of Wasil town, causing mass displacement.

The partners were alarmed by the fresh voilence that broke amid the electioneering period in Somalia, where the fragile government is copying with numerous challenges. 

The operation comes ahead of the Lower House election in Jowhar, one of the two voting districts in HirShabelle state.

The SNA and Galmudug forces staged advance along with key entry point into Guri’el to circle the city which is under the control of Ahlu Sunna, an armed Sufi group. The military build-up sparked displacements.

The premier said the election will begin with the MPs of the northern regions that will be held in Mogadishu since their constituencies are under Somaliland which claims independence. 

Galmudug and Somali government forces have set up bases between Guriel and Eldhere as they prepare to unleash an assault to dislodge the Sufi sect combatants from the whole Galgadud region.

The vote was originally scheduled for February, and the initial delay triggered violence amid a plan for President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to remain in power until it took place.

The prime minister's visit coincided with Monday, as Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo also left for Ethiopia.

Somaliland claims it seceded from the rest of Somalia in 1991 and has nothing to do with elections in Mogadishu.