Mogadiscio, Somalia – Somalia’s president on Friday thanked the United States for killing the leader of the country’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militants in an air strike earlier this week.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
“The Somali government thanks the US government and individuals in the Somali security forces who helped the operation,” said a statement from the office of Somalia’s internationally-backed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
“After cooperation between the Somali and the American government during this week, the American forces targeted a convoy transporting the Al-Shebab terrorist group leader Ahmed Abdi Godane and some of his coworkers. We are confirming that no one in that convoy survived the attack,” it said.
The president also called on Shebab fighters to lay down their arms.
“One of the main pillars of the Somali war has gone, so there is no reason for Somalia’s youth to continue with a war when its day are numbered,” the statement said.
Earlier this week the government, which is backed by an African Union force, gave Shebab fighters 45 days to surrender and benefit from an amnesty.