SNA and AMISOM conduct security operation at Sokola

Troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), operating alongside the Somali National Army (SNA) and the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) launched a dawn operation in Soqola, 12 kilometres north of Mogadishu and apprehended several suspected Al-Shabaab militants.

The operation was carried out jointly by troops from Burundi based at Maslah and Ugandan Special Forces, as well as police officers from the AMISOM Police component.

According to Lt. Col. Hatungimana Déogratias, the commander of the operation, the exercise was carried out to flush out militants who had launched attacks against AMISOM convoys in Soqola.

At least 75 suspects were arrested, of whom four (04) were confirmed to belong to the Al-Shabaab terror group and were handed over to the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) for further interrogation.

According to Lt. Col. Déogratias, the insurgents have been planting Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on the road to waylay AMISOM convoys.

Lt. Col. Hatungimana said the operation was necessary to isolate Al-Shabaab and degrade their operational capacity.
The joint operation involved cordon, search and clearance.

In the coming days, AMISOM will carry out an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) operation, in order to clear and secure the route to Academy Maslah, which is a key AMISOM base.