The decision to remove Rageh was made during a Cabinet meeting in Mogadishu, chaired by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre. A statement from the Prime Minister’s office announced the appointment of Brigadier-General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhiyadin Addow as the new Chief of the Somali National Army.
The statement mentioned that the Ministry of Defense proposed the appointment, and the Council of Ministers approved it. Brigadier-General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhiyadin Addow previously served as the Commander of the Presidential Guards and received military logistics training in Italy.
Major-General Odawaa Yusuf Rageh was appointed as Army Chief in August 2020 by former President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo. His dismissal comes amid political tensions in the Hiran region, located in the Hirshabele state, which has been a focal point of the army’s fight against the Al-Shabaab terrorist group. The Hiran region is a significant area of conflict against the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
The sacking of the army head also comes as the government prepares a new offensive against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
This development follows the recent firing of Ali Jeyte Osman, the governor of the Hiran regional administration, by Hirshabele President Ali Gudlawe Hussien. Osman, who was seen as a prominent figure in the fight against the terrorist group in the province, rejected his dismissal. In a press conference in Beledwayne, the capital city of the Hiran region, Osman declared that he would no longer recognize the state and announced the formation of a new federal member state in the central province of Hiran.
The renewed onslaught by the government in efforts to stamp out the terror group has seen increased attacks in the country. The Al-Shabaab terrorist group has in the recent past carried out attacks targeting key African Union (AU) bases and installations in Somalia.
Earlier this month the group attacked a beachside hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, killing nine civilians. And in southern Somalia, more than 20 children were killed by mortar shells, which exploded while they were playing. Al-Shabab was blamed for their deaths.
On June 7th, 2023, the terror group launched suicide attacks on a military base in the Somali town of Doolow, which is manned by Ethiopian troops, resulting in injuries to four soldiers. However, in a statement issued later in the day, Ethiopia forces said its forces in Somalia thwarted the attempted attack on their base.
“The Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) stopped the attackers in their tracks before they could wreak havoc,” Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted.
On 26th May 2023, The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) confirmed that an attack was carried out on their Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Buulo Mareer, Lower Shabelle region, by Al-Shabaab militants using vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers. Additionally, an ATMIS convoy was hit by an explosion in the capital, Mogadishu, in May 2023, further highlighting the increased frequency of targeted attacks.
