Somalia’s President Hassan Shaykh Mohamud has vowed to continue the «all-out war» against Al Shabaab and stressed that «turning back and defeat are not an option» as offensives against the terrorist group have increased in recent weeks.
«Our country and our people are at a time when backing down and defeat are not an option,» he told parliament, before adding that the authorities «are committed to ridding the country of the ‘jawans’,» according to the Somali news portal Goobjoog News.
The president has thus made use of a term that refers to a «deviant sect», days after the government banned the use of Al Shabaab to refer to the group, linked to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, and demanded that it be called this way.
«We have decided to apply ourselves in the struggle to cleanse the country,» said Shaykh Mohamud, who stressed that «he has found no alternative but to defend dignity, Islam and the nation» after coming to power, As reported by the Somali portal Somali Guardian Somalia has increased in recent months the offensives against Al Shabaab with the support of clans and local militias as part of a series of decisions taken by the president, who promised upon taking office to put the fight against terrorism at the center of his efforts to stabilize the African country.
