MOGADISHU – SOMALIA National Army (SNA) backed by local forces on Tuesday captured El-Dhere, a town in Galmudug State in central Somalia, a government official confirmed.
Somali Defense Minister Abdukadir Mohamed Nur said the town which has been under al-Shabab control for more than a decade was recovered after the extremists withdrew.
Nur told a televised news conference in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, that the capture of El-Dhere town came a day after the joint forces recovered Harardhere and Galcad towns in central Somalia.
Al-Shabab extremists are facing enormous pressure amid a heightened offensive from government forces which are being backed by the local militia to flush them out from central Somalia.
Nur said El-Dhere is the second major town in Galmudug State to have fallen into the hands of government forces since Monday.
The extremists were driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 but the terror group is still capable of conducting attacks, targeting government installations, military bases, hotels, and public places.
– Xinhua News