Al-Shabaab Leaders Relocate Families Amid Military Setbacks

Mogadishu (Somalistandard) – Amid the military offensive that has been squeezing their territory and increased pressure, leaders  of Al-Shabaab have started relocating their families overseas, the state media reported on Sunday. 

Hassan Afgoye, a senior leader and close confidant of the group’s leader Ahmed Diriye, has  reportedly taken his sons out of the group’s ranks, fearing for their safety.  

This comes after other Al-Shabaab leaders had already pulled their children from the group’s  military, prompting Afgoye to do the same.  

The group has been losing swathes of territory since the anti-Al-Shabaab uprising began late last  year.  

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The military offensive, launched by the Somali government and its allied locam forces, has been  making significant gains in recent months, pushing al-Shabaab fighters out of their strongholds in the  central and southern regions of the country. 

The offensive has disrupted the group’s operations and weakened its ability to carry out attacks on  civilian and military targets, which has led to increasing pressure on the group’s leadership. 

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The relocation of al-Shabaab leaders’ families overseas is seen as a sign of the group’s weakening  grip on the areas it once controlled.  

The move is also seen as a way for the leaders to secure their families’ safety and distance them  from the ongoing conflict.

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