Somalia: Government announces progress in fight against Al-Shabaab

Somalia’s government has announced it is making progress in its long-running fight against the Al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab militant group. Officials have announced they have reclaimed territory from the militants that had been under their control for years.

Omar Ali Abdi, Somalia’s state minister for defense, said, "there are new locations and settlements that were liberated from these militants that were under their control for the last 18 years. They include several locations in Lower Shabelle including Jilib Marka, Gendershe, and Dhanaane. These places acted as their courts where they would call anyone they wanted to extort money from, especially the residents of Mogadishu, and thanks to God we have finally managed to control them, thanks to the Somali National Army."

According to analysts, U.S.-backed airstrikes have also contributed to the government reclaiming territory from Al-Shabaab, which once controlled swathes of the country.

Abdullahi Ahmed Ali, a security analyst, said, "the hiding places of al-Shabaab were finally located, unlike in the past, and without drones and air attacks, that would not have been possible. Secondly, these attacks led to the destruction of their ammunition storage, their food storage and their water storage, and severely weakened their infantry forces as the drone managed to see the al-Shabaab infantry at a gaze."

Al-Shabaab emerged as a dominant insurgent force around two decades ago.

The U.S. has carried out air strikes in Somalia for more than a decade. At its peak, Al-Shabaab once controlled the majority of southern and central Somalia, as well as parts of its capital Mogadishu.

The turn comes as African Union peacekeeping forces are steadily drawing down and Somalia is taking on greater responsibility for its own security.