A government-organized march against the Al-Shabab organization was attended by hundreds of people on Thursday in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who attended the rally in a heavily guarded stadium, used the occasion to urge Somalis to assist in expelling the al-Shabab terrorist group, which he referred to as “bedbugs.”
People of Mogadishu, the Kharijites [renegades] are among you, I’m calling to you. so get rid of them. In his remarks to the big audience on Thursday, which was one of the largest public rallies in recent years, Mohamud added, “They are in your houses, they are your neighbors, and in cars that pass you by.
“I want us to promise to flush them out today. As protesters brandished flags and placards bearing anti-al-Shabab sentiments, he continued, “They are like bedbugs under our garments.”
“We will never condone the murders of our innocent citizens by extremists or their robberies of our people. They will be shielded from al-Shabab by us. Anybody who does that [kills innocent people] would be brought to justice or trial, according to Mohamud.
The people are fed up with massacres, murders, and other wrongdoings, and they are telling al-Shabab to stop, he claimed.
Also urging residents to disclose fighters hiding among them is his administration.
According to Hodan Ali, a top adviser to the president of Somalia, “it was about time the public stand up and claim their own security, backed by the government, and we are seeing across the country a swell against al-Shabab.” Hodan Ali was speaking .
Since 2007, Al-Shabab has waged a brutal rebellion against the internationally recognized central government, carrying out attacks throughout Somalia and its surrounding nations, who have sent troops to assist in the conflict.
Although the group killed 166 people at Garissa University in 2015 and 67 in a mall in Nairobi in 2013, assaults by al-Shabab in Kenya have been less frequent and less severe in recent years.
Shortly after taking office in May of last year, the president launched “all-out” war on the group.
Since beginning a major offensive in August of last year, the Somalian government and its associated clan groups have driven al-Shabab from vast areas of land, but the organization has responded with a series of attacks, including bombs in Mogadishu.
The rebels have repeatedly responded with brutal strikes, demonstrating their capacity to attack military sites and the center of Somali towns despite the offensive.
Al-Shabab is still well-established in some rural areas of central and southern Somalia despite having been driven out of Mogadishu and other significant urban centers more than ten years ago.
