By Zamzam Daqare - Reporter
MOGADISHU (Dawan Africa) – July 31, 2026 – The commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Dagvin Anderson, has said Somali and U.S. forces are once again fighting to recapture territory along the Lower Shabelle River that had previously been cleared of Al-Shabaab.
In an interview published by the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu on Friday, Anderson said territory secured during operations between 2019 and 2021 later fell back under Al-Shabaab control, requiring a renewed campaign to retake it.
Anderson, who served with U.S. Special Operations Command in Somalia from 2019 to 2021, said American and Somali National Army forces, including the Danab commando force, had advanced along the Lower Shabelle River as far as the town of Mubarak during that period.
“I was here active with the Special Operations Command in 2019 to 2021. And we worked with the Somali National Army and the Danab to move down the Lower Shabelle River to make progress, taking all the way down to Mubarak. I come back to AFRICOM as the commander, and we’re retaking the same territory again,” Anderson said.
He said the territory was lost because attention shifted away from the fight against terrorism.
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“This is what causes the frustration, because that territory was lost because somewhere the focus on terrorism was not there and was elsewhere,” he said.
Anderson said military operations alone are not enough to secure lasting gains, stressing that governance, justice and stability must follow after territory is recaptured.
“Being able to take that territory, that’s part of the security. But what you said is then you have to be able to hold the territory, to bring governance, to bring justice, to be able to bring the stability necessary to allow prosperity to take place,” he said.