Ethiopia estimates more than 200 members of Al Shabaab killed in combat near the border with Somalia

July 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Government of Ethiopia has estimated at more than 200 the number of alleged members of the Somali group Al Shabaab killed in the fighting recorded in recent days in an area near the border with Somalia, after the terrorists launched an offensive for the first time against Somali territory.

The Ethiopian Government Communication Service has indicated in a statement on its account on the social network Facebook that the terrorist group Al Shabaab, which crossed the border with Ethiopia and tried to attack some areas in the Somali region, has suffered serious losses in personnel and properties in the intense fighting with the special forces of the region and the coordinated efforts of the federal security forces”.

Thus, he stressed that “more than 209” terrorists have been “destroyed” by the “coordinated actions of state and federal security forces.” “The exact number of members of the terrorist group captured by the regional militias is under investigation,” she said.

“This terrorist group dreamed of entering the Elkere district and Oromia region to join another terrorist group, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) –split from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) after the 2018 peace agreement –, but this plan has proven to be a total failure”, he explained, while stating that “the mission to eliminate the forces of the terrorist group, which has been dispersed and isolated after the counterattack, will continue in a coordinated and calculated”.

For this reason, the Ethiopian authorities have highlighted the “enormous” sacrifices and contributions of the local population when it comes to “completely dismantling the mission of the terrorist group.” “We are in the process of eliminating them from the areas where they are and the government asks the authorities to continue reinforcing support for the people until this group is totally destroyed,” he concluded.

Al Shabaab launched an offensive against the Somali region last week, briefly taking control of two towns in the Ato area. The group claimed through its propaganda channels that the fighting had resulted in the death of 87 Somali soldiers and published images of the bodies of several of them.

Al Shabaab attacks on areas near the Ethiopian border are rare due to the strong presence of Ethiopian security forces in the area. Addis Ababa is also part of the deployment of the African Union Transitional Mission (ATMIS), which this year replaced the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) after 15 years of operations against jihadism.

Somalia is facing an increase in the number of attacks by the Islamist militia Al Shabaab, both in the capital, Mogadishu, and in other areas in the south of the country, which has led the new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to promise that will focus its efforts on security during the first hundred days of its mandate.