The governments of Somalia and neighboring countries have reached an agreement to launch a «robust» campaign aimed at «destroying» the Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab terrorist group, following a regional summit in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
In a joint communiqué, the governments of Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti have announced «an agreement to jointly plan and organize a robust operational campaign on the frontlines to seek out and destroy Al Shabaab (…) in its strongholds in southern and central Somalia.»
«This campaign will prevent future infiltration of elements (of the terrorist group) in the region,» they said, before stressing that «it is necessary to mobilize regional support for decisive operations,» in the framework of measures that include «a joint operations mechanism to coordinate holistic capabilities (…) to defeat the enemy,» according to a statement published by the Somali Presidency on its account on the social network Twitter.
Therefore, they have equally called on the international community to «support Somalia’s stabilization efforts in the newly liberated areas to facilitate the Federal Government to deliver services and extend its authority», while stressing the importance of «establishing a joint border security mechanism» to «eliminate cross-border terrorist activities».
The signatories emphasized «the importance of respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia» and showed their commitment to «continue to support the Federal Government in its efforts towards liberation».
Somalia has in recent months stepped up offensives against Al Shabaab with the support of local clans and militias as part of a series of decisions taken by President Hassan Shaykh Mohamud, who pledged on taking office to put the fight against terrorism at the heart of his efforts to stabilize the African country.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
