Sunday March 23, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) – Top leaders of the Al-Shabaab militant group have begun fleeing from their longtime stronghold of Jilib in the Middle Jubba region following a series of intensified airstrikes by Somali government forces and international partners, military officials said Saturday.
Somali National Television (SNTV), quoting senior military sources, reported that Al-Shabaab is in disarray in Jilib after recent airstrikes destroyed key militant facilities and killed a significant number of fighters. The strikes are part of the government’s ongoing offensive targeting the group’s leadership and infrastructure.
According to officials, several high-ranking leaders, along with their families, are abandoning the town and seeking new hiding places. While exact casualty figures remain unclear, hundreds of militants, including commanders, were reportedly killed, and scores of others wounded in the recent wave of attacks.
Jilib has long served as a strategic hub and operational command center for Al-Shabaab, a militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the Somali government, the United Nations, the United States, and other international partners.
In a renewed appeal, the Somali government urged remaining Al-Shabaab fighters to surrender, warning that all areas under the group’s control—including Jilib—are considered legitimate military targets and may be attacked at any time. Civilians were advised to steer clear of militant positions to avoid harm.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and top military commanders have spent the past week on the frontlines in Middle Shabelle, where government forces and allied local militias are pressing forward in the campaign to reclaim territory from the group.
