Somalia govt takes strategic border towns from Jubbaland

 Somali National Army [SNA] in the Gedo region have recovered Balad-Hawo and Dolow near Somalia’s border with Kenya and Ethiopia on Tuesday, February 4 from Jubaland state forces.

Jubaland information minister, Abdi Hussein Ahmed has confirmed the capture of the strategic towns by Turkish-trained troops recently deployed to the province from Mogadishu on planes by the Federal Government of Somalia.

“We don’t want to start a war in the region, thus, our forces retreated from the border towns of Balad-Hawo and Dolow ahead of the arrival of the FGS soldiers,” said Ahmed, while speaking to the reporters in Kismayo.

Several SNA officers have told media that the Somali government continues deployment of additional troops to the volatile region as tensions with Jubaland mount following the seizure of the two districts.

On Tuesday morning, Jubaland security minister Abdirashid Janan, who is wanted by FGS and seeking assistance from Interpol and Kenya for his arrest paid a surprise visit to Balad-Hawo hours before it fell to SNA.

Janan has escaped from NISA-run detention in Mogadishu, the Somali capital a week ago after five months behind bars and he is currently in Kenya, according to the sources in Nairobi.

The minister was arrested for “serious crimes” on 31 August 2019 at Mogadishu airport and arraigned at the Benadir Regional Court on 6 October 2019 and thereafter detained until his escape on 28 January 2020.