Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud spends the night on the frontlines after surviving bomb attack
Al-Shabaab militants unsuccessfully tried to take down President Hassan after the attack on his motorcade as it was travelling through the capital Mogadishu.
A day after escaping an Al-Shabaab assassination attempt on his life, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Tuesday night spent the night deep on the frontlines meeting commanders and local leaders to bolster the fight against international terrorists.
On his way to the airport on Tuesday morning from his Villa Somalia palace, Al-Shabaab militants unsuccessfully tried to take down President Hassan after the attack on his motorcade as it was travelling through the capital Mogadishu.
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“As our forces make decisive gains, the enemy, in a cowardly act of desperation, attempted a failed attack on the presidential convoy earlier on Tuesday,” A statement from the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism issued after the attack read.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on President Hassan’s convoy through a statement shared on Telegram.
After surviving the attempt on his life, the President first flew to Adan Yabal district in the Middle Shabele region where he met with commanders including Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, National Intelligence Security Agency (NISA) Director Abdullah Mohamed Ali “Sanbalolshe” and other top military and intelligence commanders who briefed him on the ongoing operations.
The President then flew to Moqokori in the Hiiran region, another epicentre of the ongoing operations against Al-Shabaab where he met with Hirshabelle State leadership and other commanders including New Head of Local Fighters (Ma’wisly) Ali Jeyte Osman, who has been leading government efforts to defeat Al-Shabaab in Hiiran region.
A fire engine drives past the debris of buildings at the scene of an explosion near the Presidential Palace, also known as Villa Somalia, in the Hamar Jajab district of Mogadishu, Somalia March 18, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Feisal Omar)
“President of the Federal Republic of Somalia spent the night deep on the frontlines against an ongoing anti-Al-Shabaab operation. He tonight met in Moqokori with Hirshabelle State leaders and frontline commanders who briefed him on the ongoing operations against Al-Shabaab,” a statement from President Hassan’s office read.
Since his re-election in May 2022, President Hassan has prioritised security and declared a total war on Al-Shabaab on three different fronts – militarily, financially and through an ideological campaign to de-radicalise youth brainwashed by Al-Shabaab. Despite many government victories, Al-Shabaab is still a thorn in Somalia’s stability sometimes destabilising peace.
In a bid to boost Somalia’s efforts in fighting Al-Shabaab, Turkey on Tuesday delivered two of its famed Bayraktar Akinci TB2 medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned Combat Ariel Vehicle UCAV) or drones capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations and able to deliver lesser guided missiles at targets, a game changer in the fight against Al-Shabaab.
The government has also deployed hundreds of heavily armed prison warders and police officers to join military and clan Ma’wisley fighters in the ongoing expansive operations against Al-Shabaab in the Middle Shabele, Lower Shabele and Hiiran regions.
Other operations are also ongoing in Puntland State’s northern Almiskaad rugged mountains and in the south in Jubaland State regions as well as in the western Bay and Bakool regions of Southwest State.
On Tuesday, the National Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) announced the arrival of election materials and gadgets and said it will start civic elections by the end of June.
“It looks like the government has decided to undertake a major offensive against Al-Shabaab across all their hideouts in Somalia. For the first time, the government even recently bombed Jilib, the Al-Shabaab headquarters. Operations are ongoing across the country. They want to weaken Al-Shabaab before elections,” Analyst Abdi Ali told The Eastleigh Voice.
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