SOMALIA replaced its national security director yesterday and put its
army on alert for retaliation after the Islamist militant group al
Shabaab confirmed its leader had been killed in a United States air
strike.
Al Shabaab vowed revenge on Saturday for the killing of Ahmed
Godane, named the little-known Sheikh Ahmad Umar Abu Ubaidah as its new
head, and reaffirmed its affiliation to al Qaeda.
National Security Director, Abdullahi Mohamed Ali had only been in his post since July.
In an announcement after a cabinet meeting, government spokesman
Ridwan Abdiweli gave no reason for the change but said Ali’s deputy
would stand in for him.
He said the defense and security ministers had called for “particular vigilance” following Godane’s death.
In a speech broadcast on radio and television on Saturday, National
Security Minister, General Khalif Ahmed Ereg said the government was
preparing for possible attacks on hospitals or schools, and put the
armed forces on higher alert.
Godane had dramatically raised al Shabaab’s profile with bombings and
suicide attacks in Somalia and elsewhere in the region, including Kenya
and Uganda.
Somali forces and African Union (AU) peacekeepers have mounted push
against al Shabaab this year after a surge in gun and bomb attacks in
Mogadishu, notably on legislators and the presidential palace.
Western governments as well as neighboring countries want to
neutralize a group that they say has exploited Somalia’s chaos to
attract jihadists from abroad and train them to fight.
Al Shabaab, whose name means “The Youth”, wants to impose a strict
version of Islam. It controlled Mogadishu and the southern region of
Somalia from 2006 until 2011, when it was pushed back by AU forces
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