Somalia committed to continuing war against al-Shabaab: President

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Somalia’s president has announced that his administration is focusing on uprooting the al-Shabaab from the country.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud praised lawmakers for standing with the national army in the fight against al-Shabaab.

“Today we’re at a time where defeat and retreat are not an option and we’re committed to liberating our country from the Khawarij,” Mohamud said at the opening of the second parliament session in the highly fortified presidential compound in Mogadishu.

The speech was his second since he took office.

‘Khawarij’ is a reference to a splinter group in early Islamic history which cut itself off from the mainstream and declared all outside the group to be heretics and legitimate targets of violence.

Mohamud also announced that his administration is committed to tackling a drought that has affected more than 7 million of the 15 million people in the country and has killed millions of livestock.

Turning to foreign policy and his overseas trips to Somalia’s close friends, including Türkiye, he said anyone will be welcome who put national interest first.

“Somalia needs more friends than it needs enemies,” he said.

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with al-Shabaab being one of the main threats in the Horn of Africa country.

Since 2007, al-Shabaab has waged a deadly campaign against the government and international forces, resulting in deaths of thousands.

A car bomb attack in late October in Mogadishu killed at least 100 people and wounded 300 others.