The country has thousands of troops with an addition of 19,600 serving in the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and 500 from the US Africa Command but the threat posed by al-Shabaab
...... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them...makes it extremely difficult for the soldiers to reach every corner of Somalia.
During his visit to the recently liberated town of Adan Yabal on Sunday, Hassan Sheikh urged citizens to be responsible for their own security, adding that it is only in HirShabelle where illegal roadblocks are still being mounted by al-Shabaab. The rest of the country, he added, remains safe and secure.
He emphasized that the government can't send troops everywhere and urged citizens to contribute to the security of their areas. Elsewhere in Somalia, the local militia has taken arms against the Death Eaters who have been fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud stated that areas, where al-Shabaab remains active, are those where locals have not yet risen up and are unprepared to combat the terrorist group. For the last seven months, the Death Eaters have, however, lost grip of strategic towns following the sophisticated operation.
During this Holy month of Ramadan, the national army is set to launch the second phase of the al-Shabaab crackdown which will focus on remote areas where the Death Eaters still have influence. The government of Somalia has also started installing civilian administration in areas where the military managed to flush out the murderous Moslems.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had vowed to get rid of the Death Eaters thus launching "total war" against the group and has been asking for assistance from stakeholders.
The president managed to persuade Kenya, Djibouti and Æthiopia to send additional troops to the country for the impending second phase of the al-Shabaab crackdown.