[Garowe] A fortnight after a series of al-Shabaab
 ...... the personification of Somali state failure...
unprecedented attacks within the territory of Æthiopia, Addis Ababa has dispatched a high-level military delegation to Somalia, paying a visit to border states, including HirShabelle, Jubaland, Somaliland, and Southwest states.
The delegation is led by Major General Tesfaye Ayalew, the Chief of Defense Forces of Æthiopia National Defense Forces [ENDF] arrived at Baidoa, the regional administrative capital of Southwest. Also present was the Somali region's Temporary Security Command Post commander.
At Baidoa, the team was received by Sector III Commander within 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] Brigadier General Zewdu Setargie. The delegation briefed the Chief Commander about the current peace and security situation in the region and the general activities of al-Shabaab bad boys.
Further, the army chiefs discussed a number of issues regarding cooperation on security and peace, with the defeat of al-Shabaab forces of Evil being on the major agenda. al-Shabaab has been making inroads within Æthiopia, with major attacks taking place two weeks ago.
At Jubaland, the delegation met with Vice President Mohamud Sayid Aden, where they condemned al-Shabaab continued destruction of the economic and social progress of the country. The teams also discussed special cooperation between Jubaland and Æthiopia.
Brigadier General Lucas Kuto, on his part, said that decisive actions must be taken to prevent the terrorist al-Shabaab from seizing and using various explosives and detonators, as well as from the chaos it was spreading using social media, Addis Ababa Standard reports.
Lieutenant colonel Sintayehu Leta commented that the bad boy group was deceiving the fathers, mothers, and community elders in the region and "taking their children and training them for their nefarious purposes".
He emphasized that the bad boy group must be prevented from using especially the border areas of Dolo and Moyale to make incursions into Æthiopia.
Æthiopia said last week it had killed over 100 al-Shabaab bad boys, but some reports indicated that over 200 forces of Evil may have crossed over the border. This was the first time the forces of Evil were raiding the Horn of Africa nation, which is struggling with instability.
However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat...
despite their trip to Somalia, it's not clear whether Addis Ababa consulted Mogadishu before deploying the military delegation to Somalia. Æthiopia has been a major security stakeholder in Somalia, having contributed over 3,500 soldiers to the country.
Æthiopia had previously tried to use the breakaway region of Somaliland to create a buffer zone in the fight against al-Shabaab forces of Evil in the country. Last week, the Æthiopian troops crossed into Somalia where they created a buffer zone last week.
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