Somali leader makes military changes to curb rising insecurity

MOGADISHU, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Somali President Mohamed Farmajo on Saturday moved four top military commanders in a mini-reshuffle as part of measures to curb rising insecurity in the Horn of Africa nation.

Under the changes, Abdi Mohamed Hassan who has been military attaché in Somali embassy in Saudi Arabia was appointed as the new deputy commander of the Somali National Army (SNA).

Hassan replaces Odawaa Yusuf Rageh who was appointed as new commander of the infantry forces.

Abdirashid Abdullahi Shire was named as deputy commander of the infantry forces while Admiral Abbas Amin Ali was appointed as the new commander of the navy, replacing Admiral Hassan Nur who was sacked in December 2018 after being in office for only four months.

The changes come amid increased terror attacks in the Horn of African nation which were blamed on al-Qaida allied terrorist group al-Shabab.

The mini-reshuffle also comes barely a week after President Farmajo blamed top military commanders for failure to flush out the militant group within two years as he had promised when he ascended to power in February in 2017. Enditem