Hiiraan Online
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
BELEDWEYNE (HOL) – The Djiboutian government has rotated its troops serving under the African Union force fighting the Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia after a year-long service, deploying fresh troops who would take in their places.
A UN-chartered plane has transported hundreds of troops who helped ousting militants from towns and villages in the region from Beledweyne airport Tuesday as their new colleagues have taken over their positions in the town and other areas in Hiiraan region.
Based in Beledweyne, local often credit Djiboutian-AU troops with the provision of basic aid and social services, winning the hearts and minds of the residents in the region which still faces attacks by the Al-Qaeda linked militants in Somalia.
Last year, the contingent came to the aid of civilians in Beletweyne, helping to organize evacuations after heavy rains caused massive flooding in the region, according to AMISOM.
In December 2011, Djibouti which is sandwiched between Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia became the third country to contribute to AMISOM and deployed a contingent of 960 troops into Somalia to fight Al-Shabab fighters.
Al-Shabab aims to maintain its grip on the rural areas in Hiiraan region after abandoning most of their key strongholds, thanks to the multi-pronged offensive by the African Union and Somali troops.
However, the group still controls over strings of villages between Beledweyne and Buloburte, a corridor that could give the militants a larger area to launch attacks to disrupt the on-going offensive against it and consolidate their power bases in south and central Somalia.
