By Asha Elmi - Editor-in-Chief
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DHUSAMAREB, 5 November 2026 – The new leader of Somalia's Galmudug State has vowed to drive Al-Shabab militants out of areas they still hold in the state.
Liibaan Ahmed Hassan made the pledge on Thursday at his inauguration in the Galmudug capital Dhusamareb, saying his administration would work with neighbouring federal member states, the federal government and the people of Galmudug to remove Al-Shabab "in a short time."
He described Al-Shabab fighters as terrorists working for "foreign hands" and said once the group was removed from Galmudug, his administration would help drive it out of the rest of Somalia.
Liban said his government would begin a reconciliation drive among Galmudug's communities on Saturday, fulfilling a campaign promise to do so within his first 100 days.
He voiced support for South West State, saying attacks on its territory had been carried out by "terrorists and foreign hands," and urged Somalis to stand with the state and its leader, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.
Liibaan, a member of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's Justice and Solidarity Party (JSP), was elected Galmudug leader on Oct. 22, winning 72 of 89 votes cast by state lawmakers. He succeeds Ahmed Abdi Kaariye, who led the state from February 2020.