Somalia: Al-Shabaab briefly controls Amara, Puntland sends troops

According to VOA news reporting on 24 August 2021, Somali security forces recaptured the town of Amara (in the central Galmudug region) after al-Shabaab militants had briefly taken control of the town in a dawn attack.‚  Officials told VOA that al-Shabab militants began their attack with a suicide bomb detonated near the local army base.‚  As reported by Reuters on 4 September 2021, Somalia"s semi-autonomous region of Puntland has now sent troops into the neighboring region of Galmudug to help push further al-Shabaab elements out of Amara. Yonas Dembele, World Watch Research analyst comments: "Al-Shabaab has been fighting in Somalia for many years in an attempt to topple the central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law. Currently, al-Shabaab controls large parts of central and southern Somalia. Despite joint international efforts to combat al-Shabaab, the group has continued to carry out attacks against civilians and security forces in the country. Its aim is to weaken the capacity of the army in order to destabilize and take control of the nation." Yonas Dembele continues: "Amara is one of the three towns recently recaptured by Somali forces. Although the security forces reacted swiftly, it is worrying that al-Shabaab still has the capacity to capture strategic towns. It goes to show that the situation for civilians is far from safe and that the fight against radical Islamic forces is far from over. However, since Puntland has experience in successfully fighting against al-Shabaab there is a chance that these extra troops could at least help expel the militants from the region surrounding Amara. For the Christian community who are frequently targeted, it will be a positive development if efforts to combat and neutralize the militants are successful."