Somalia’s president hassan sheikh mohamud is planning to dismiss the currebt chief of the army Ibrahim sheikh muhudin,after battlefield setbacks that drew criticism fir his handling of a longstanding dispute between the army and the ministry of defense,caasimada online news website reported on Tuesday.
In a meeting scheduled for Thursday,the cabinet is expected to appoint a man identified as general garabey,who is currently in turkey with president hassan sheikh mohamud and his defense minister abdulkadir mohamud nur.
It comes after reports emerged that the military chief rejected to accept a presidential decree naming four new army commanders,whose appointment came after a suggestion by the minister of defense.
Mohamud has long been criticized of failing to end dispute between his army chief and the minister of defense that many say is the prime reason behind setbacks in military operations against the militant group al-shabab.
Last week,dozens of soldiers were killed and military vehicles seized after insurgents overran army bases in the remote village of el-dher in central somalia’s galgaduud region.
According to analyst,the rebel group often capitalizes on vulnerabilities within the army to reverse their gains and regain territory lost in offensive operations.
Somali president is also considering the possibility of appointing one person as both the minister of defense and the army chief to prevent future disputes that could hamper the somali army’s planned takeover of the country’s security responsibility by the end of the year when African union troops exit.
Source: somaliguardian