By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 28 September 2026 Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said inadequate planning and the rapid deployment of newly recruited troops contributed to the loss of momentum in the government’s offensive against Al-Shabaab that began in 2022.
Speaking to Dawan’s Miizaan Podcast, aired on Saturday, Barre said the campaign made significant gains but began while the government was still new and its plans were incomplete.
Local communities had already mobilised against Al-Shabaab, he said, prompting the government to support them before it was fully prepared for a sustained offensive.
Barre said the government sent some recently recruited soldiers to the front after limited training. In some operations, forces advanced farther than had been adequately planned, he said, and later withdrew from certain areas to take up defensive positions.
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The government had learned from those setbacks, Barre said. He said current operations were planned more carefully, with decisions made by trained officers, and expressed confidence in the forces conducting them.
Barre also denied that his government was holding talks with Al-Shabaab, saying no meetings had taken place between the two sides. He said, however, that the government would welcome individuals who left the group and renounced violence.