The Somali army is training a special force armed with skills on how to engage in asymmetrical warfare to deal with the terror gang, Al Shabaab which has put the country under stranglehold for the last 20 years.
The new force is also in preparation for the draw-down of the African Union Mission (AUSOM) peacekeepers who are on their final assignment in the country that has not seen peace since 1991 when the government of President Siad Barre was toppled thrusting the country into chaos.
The force is mainly composed of young Somalis drawn from the rural set-up away from the urban centres where Al Shabaab has taken root and calls the shots.
The training of the new force comes amid a summit by Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) held in Entebbe under the chairmanship of Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni on April 26, 2025, and attended by among others the president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
