Hirshabelle state leader Ali Gudlawe Hussein has vowed to intensify operations against al-Shabaab fighters in the state.
During a meeting with his cabinet in Jowhar town, the leader said the forces in the state will soon launch operations against al-Shabaab fighters.
The meeting also discussed the security of the state, the efforts to avert floods by the river as well as the Stabilization Program Report and their progress, the Crisis Recovery Program (SCRP).
Somali government in cooperation with local clans in Hirshabelle and Galmudug state had waged offensives against al-Shabaab fighters.
The allied forces liberated dozens of villages and towns in the Hiiraan, Galgadud, Mudug and Middle Shabelle regions.
According to the statement by the Ministry of Information, the government forces backed by local militias killed hundreds of fighters in months-long operations.
Last week, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared that al-Shabab would be eliminated by the end of the year.
Mohamud said the second phase of the operation would soon begin in Somalia’s South West State and the Jubaland region.
Somalia is also depending on troops from Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya after the neighbouring countries in January agreed to jointly launch military operations against al-Shabab strongholds.
