Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the president of Somalia, has declared that a military offensive against al-Shabab aims to destroy the al-Qaeda-affiliated group within the next five months.
Considering that the group has been active since the early 2000s, is deeply ingrained in communities, and has modified its strategies in response to pressure from foreign militaries, reporters say a promise to eradicate it is incredibly overly optimistic.
However, tens of thousands of government soldiers have been congregating in a town in central Somalia in preparation for a fresh military offensive against the jihadists.
The army and local clan-based militias were able to seize swathes of territory from Al Shabab during the offensive’s first phase, which got under way a year ago.
Al-Shabab, which in Arabic means “the youth,” first emerged as the radical youth wing of the now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts in Somalia, which ruled Mogadishu in 2006 before being driven out by Ethiopian forces.
Source-BBC
