Joint Somali Forces Target Al-Shabaab Positions in Lower Juba

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Somali security forces have destroyed several positions used by the Al-Shabaab militant group during a three-day military operation in the Lower Juba region.

Jubbaland regional officials said the operation was carried out jointly by Jubbaland’s Darawiish forces and the Somali National Army’s elite Danab commandos in areas outside the port city of Kismayo, one of the government’s main strongholds in southern Somalia.

According to Jubbaland authorities, the operation targeted locations used by Al-Shabaab to plan attacks and collect illegal taxes from vehicles travelling along key transport routes in Lower Juba.  The officials said several of the group’s positions were destroyed during the raids.

The officials said government forces also exchanged fire with Al-Shabaab fighters in some locations, although they did not provide details on casualties or indicate whether any soldiers were killed or wounded.

The latest operation is part of a wider military campaign aimed at disrupting Al-Shabaab’s presence in Lower Juba, where the group continues to control parts of the countryside despite sustained offensives by Somali forces and allied local units.

Lower Juba remains strategically important because it borders Kenya and includes vital supply routes linking Kismayo to other parts of southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab has long relied on rural areas in the region to launch attacks, move fighters and generate revenue through taxation and extortion.

Somali forces have intensified pressure on the militant group across several regions in southern and central Somalia, although security analysts say Al-Shabaab continues to demonstrate its ability to regroup and carry out attacks despite repeated military operations.