Madobe meets US troops serving in Jubaland as KDF donates food

KISMAYO, Somalia - Jubaland President Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with a section of US troops stationed in Jubaland state, where Al-Shabaab has been a menace for as many years.

The Al-Shabaab militants control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia where they are keen to impose the retrogressive Sharia law besides having plans to topple the fragile UN-backed Somalia administration.

In Jubaland, the militants have a huge presence in Middle and Lower Jubba where they have been wreaking havoc on residents in as many months. There is also a huge presence of the foreign military in Jubaland state.

And on Tuesday, Madobe held candid talks with representatives of the US Africa Command, where they agreed to collaborate in the fight against Al-Shabaab, which is slowly losing steam due to the current political crisis in Somalia.

"Met with US forces operating in Jubaland under USA Africa Command to discuss ways to enhance the fight against Al-Shabaab. The fight Against Al-Shabaab is a priority for Somalia and its partners," Madobe said in a tweet.

The meeting comes almost five months after almost all troops serving under US Africa Command in Somalia were repositioned elsewhere in East Africa following an order by the Department of Defense. The plans were put in place by former President Donald Trump.

Previously, the US Africa Command troops have been training the Danab troops besides giving combat troops aerial surveillance in the fight against Al-Shabaab. During such air raids, hundreds of militants have either been killed or injured.

Conspicuously, the state media; both SONNA and the Somali National Television reported the meeting. Given Madobe's perceived political stand and persistent criticism of the current administration, the state media has often avoided him.

Elsewhere, KDF troops serving in Kismayo on Tuesday donated foodstuff to several civilians living within the town which serves as the regional administrative capital of Jubaland. The KDF team has close to 3,500 troops in Somalia.

Each of the more than 100 family beneficiaries of the donations received a package with a variety of food items that included wheat flour, sugar, rice, cooking oil, milk, and dates.

The team distributing the food donation led by the Commanding Officer 2 Mechanised Infantry Battalion Lieutenant Colonel Godfree Owour said the support to the vulnerable families was important especially at this time when the world is facing devastating socio-economic challenges owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are here today in the environs of our FOB to share with the community is the spirit of good neighborliness. These donations are meant to help alleviate the pain from the residents' given the majority of the people across the world are passing through a difficult period due to the ravaging coronavirus that has disrupted livelihoods of many people,” said Lieutenant Colonel Owour.

The area chief and village elders who received the food donation expressed gratitude to the KDF troops, Jubaland Administration, and Kismayo business community for the assistance and called for more humanitarian interventions to assist families in the area.

“The disruption of our livelihoods by the Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our people and this donation comes at the right time. We are grateful for the support and we will continue cooperating with the AMISOM troops in Kismayo in the fight against terrorism,’’ said the area chief.

As part of its support to the people of Somalia, KDF troops in Jubaland have always been conducting free medical camps and donating medical supplies to various health services institutions among other Civil-Military Cooperation activities.

GAROWE ONLINE