Battle of Hawadley | |||||||
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Part of Somali Civil War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
10 (per Somalia) 63 (per al-Shabaab) | 49+ (per Somalia) |
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On January 17, 2023, al-Shabaab attacked a Somali army base in the town of Hawadley, Hirshabelle State, Somalia. In response, the Somali army launched counter-operations to secure the area.
Background[]
In late 2022, the Somali government under Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched a massive counteroffensive against al-Shabaab in Somalia's Hirshabelle State.[1] In the offensive, Somali forces recovered large swaths of the state, including Runirgod District, Ceel Guud, and Harardhere.[1] In these offensives, they captured the town of Hawadley in late October.[2]
Battles[]
The day of the attack, al-Shabaab militants placed a car with explosives outside the Somali Army's military base in Hawadley.[2] Immediately afterward, jihadists stormed the base and shot at the Somali soldiers. Somali forces were able to hold onto the base.[3] A Somali commander from a nearby town stated that seven Somali soldiers, including the base's commander, were killed in the attack.[4] This number later rose to ten soldiers killed.[3] al-Shabaab, immediately after the attack, claimed the deaths of sixty-three Somali soldiers.[5]
Two days later, the Somali army in collaboration with NISA attacked al-Shabaab bases at farms on the outskirts of Hawadley. Forty-nine al-Shabaab fighters were killed in the battle.[6] The attack was launched in response to the Hawadley base attack.[6]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Sustaining Gains in Somalia’s Offensive against Al-Shabaab" (in en). 2023-03-21. https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/somalia/b187-sustaining-gains-somalias-offensive-against-al-shabaab.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Al-Shabab Launches Deadly Attack on Somali Military Base" (in en). 2023-01-17. https://www.voanews.com/a/al-shabaab-launches-deadly-attack-on-somali-military-base/6921685.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Over 40 al-Shabaab terrorists killed in new operation, says Somali military". https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/over-40-al-shabaab-terrorists-killed-in-new-operation-says-somali-military/2792445.
- ↑ "Seven soldiers killed in al-Shabab attack on Somali military base" (in en). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/17/seven-soldiers-killed-in-al-shabab-attack-on-military-base.
- ↑ "Somalia: Al-Shabaab attacks army base in Hawadley, Middle Shabelle, Jan. 17" (in en). https://crisis24.garda.com/alerts/2023/01/somalia-al-shabaab-attacks-army-base-in-hawadley-middle-shabelle-jan-17.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "69 al-Shabab Fighters Killed, Somali Military Says" (in en). 2023-01-19. https://www.voanews.com/a/al-shabab-fighters-killed-somali-military-says/6926370.html.
The original article can be found at Battle of Hawadley and the edit history here.