Somali president, US AFRICOM commander discuss operations against Al-Shabaab

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met on Tuesday in Mogadishu with General Michael E. Langley, head of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), to discuss joint military efforts against Al-Shabaab.

Talks centred on boosting coordination, accelerating operations, and expanding support through training and intelligence sharing, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Fiqi and army chief General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh also held talks with General Langley and U.S. Ambassador Richard H. Riley. The meetings reviewed current offensives and efforts to enhance Somali security forces’ capacity to counter Al-Shabaab and ISIS-Somalia.

The discussions come as Al-Shabaab steps up attacks in an attempt to reclaim areas lost during the government’s 2022 offensive. ISIS-Somalia, which is active in the mountainous Bari region of Puntland, has also clashed with regional forces in recent months, with support from U.S. and UAE airstrikes.