Friday September 23, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that his country was committed to the fight against global terrorism but urged international partners to abandon the policy of containment.
"It was a great honour to address the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly and share Somalia's pursuit of peace and prosperity while overcoming global challenges. We must work together collaboratively as a community of nations to confront our common obstacles, including the fight against terrorism."
Mohamud criticized the current strategy of containing Al Shabaab within specific areas and preventing its expansion into government-held territories or neighbouring countries as wasteful and unproductive.
"The most important lesson we have learnt in the long modern war against international terrorists and terrorism is that neither can be contained or degraded. Instead, it must be comprehensively defeated wherever it is. This means defeating it for once, for all, and completely."
Mohamud credited the recent successes of Somalia's military against Al Shabaab in central Somalia to the grassroots support from locals, including militia.
"We are now confident that, with enhanced public support, our government will eliminate terrorism from Somalia because the Somali people have finally realized that Al-SHabaab' 's repressive actions will not end until we all take action to achieve this. In a nutshell, the Somali people now believe Al-Shabaab can and will be defeated, and this is our real source of energy and inspiration as a government in the fight against international terrorism."'
He added, "in Somalia, we have a wise saying: One finger cannot wash a whole face. If we walk together, no challenge is insurmountable."
President Mohamud said Somalia is facing an equally devastating trifecta of problems, including localized recurring conflicts, international terrorism and the devastating impact of climate change.
"I cannot prioritize between these three interlocking challenges because they are equally as dangerous and directly hamper any progress."