The government of Somalia has sacked Army Chief Major-General Odawaa Yusuf Rageh has been sacked, just a few months after he toured Kenya and held a high-profile meeting with his Kenyan counterparts.
A cabinet meeting held on Monday, and presided over by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, resolved to terminate Rageh’s services as Somalia intensifies its fight against Al-Shabaab militant group.
The cabinet also approved the appointment of Brigadier-General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhiyadin Addow as the new Chief of the Somali National Army, a statement by the prime minister’s office said.
“The Council of Ministers has approved the proposal of the Defence Ministry for the appointment of the Commander of the Somali National Army and appointed Brigadier-General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhyadin Addow,” the statement said.
The new army chief previously served as the commander of the Presidential Guards, and is said to have studied military logistics in Italy.
The former office holder, Rageh, was appointed the army chief in August 2020 by former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.
His dismissal comes amid political tensions in the Hiran region in Hirshabele state, the epicentre of the army fighting against Al-Shabaab militants.
The move comes just a few days after Hirshabele leader, Ali Gudlawe Hussien, fired Ali Jeyte Osman, the governor of the Hiran regional administration, who was seen as the face of the fight against the terrorist group in the province.
However, Osman rejected his dismissal and declared that he will no longer recognise the state at a press conference in Beledwayne, the capital city of the Hiran region, on Sunday.
