Somalia's army chief in Addis Ababa, holds meeting with ENDF counterpart

Somalia’s Army Chief General Odowaa Yusuf Rage, and his Ethiopian counterpart, General Birhanu Jula [Photo: SNA]

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, the Somali National Army [SNA] chief, held a meeting with his Ethiopian counterpart General Birhanu Jula on Monday, where they discussed a raft of issues, key among them the fight against Al-Shabaab.

This was the first major meeting by Rageh, who was trained in Uganda, that he held outside Somalia. The meeting took place in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, which has also been battling with internal political conflicts.

Reports from Ethiopia indicate that the two discussed how Somalia will strengthen its defense force, which has been undergoing rebuilding for over three decades. Somalia's army was almost dismantled after the ouster of Siad Barre.

In a message issued by Ethiopia National Defense Forces [ENDF], the two generals stressed the vital role of the African Union Mission in Somalia that includes Ethiopian troops [AMISOM] in fighting the terrorist organization in the region – Al Shabaab.

Ethiopia has close to 4,500 troops in AMISOM who mainly serve Sectors III and VI of the AMISOM jurisdiction. There is also an estimated 1000 Ethiopian non-Amisom troops who were deployed in Somalia especially in the Gedo region and whose presence has created a rift between Mogadishu and Kismayo.

Authorities in Jubaland have often accused Ethiopia of working closely with the administration of outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo to undermine the leadership of Jubaland under regional President Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe. However, the conflict has since been resolved.

"Somali National Army Chief, General Odawa Yusuf Rageh and Ethiopian National Defense Forces Chief, General Berhanu Jula held a meeting in Addis Ababa. The two Commanders discussed ways to strengthen the security cooperation between the two countries," SNA confirmed the meeting in a tweet.

General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh also indicated that such practical role of the neighboring countries such as Ethiopia is much better and vital for Somalia than some countries’ unfulfilled promises in fighting Al Shabaab and rebuilding Somalia. Ethiopia played an important role in flushing Al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu.

On his part, General Birhanu Jula stated that his country’s national Defense Force is always ready to support the effort of the Government of Somalia to build its own strong defense force. Ethiopia has been in the frontline pushing for peace and stability in Somalia.

The two officials further stressed that as peace and stability of the two neighbors is interdependent, collaboration to eliminate terrorist groups like Al Shabaab is their common objective. Al-Shabaab still controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.

Odowaa's trip to Addis Ababa comes few weeks after a UN Special Rapporteur to Eritrea confirmed that Somali troops training in Eritrea fought in the Tigray war. The ENDF had executed an operation in Tigray where it was reportedly backed by Amhara regional forces, the Eritrean troops, and those from Somalia training in Asmara.

But despite such indications, Somalia has vehemently denied the reports, claiming that no soldier took part in the Tigray war. The Tigray Defense Forces have recently been pushing into regions outside Tigray, further weakening the federal army.

GAROWE ONLINE