Somalia training special armed unit to face off with al-Shabaab

Somali National Army soldiers at the Joint Command Centre in Kismayo on October 13, 2022. [File, Standard]

The Somali army is training a special force skilled in asymmetrical warfare to deal with terror gang, Al- Shabaab, which has held the country under a stranglehold for the past 20 years.

This new force is also preparing for the eventual withdrawal of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AUSOM) peacekeepers, who are on their final assignment in a country that has lacked peace since 1991, when President Siad Barre's government was toppled, thrusting Somalia into chaos.