MOGADISHU, Somalia (CHATNEWSTV) — Al Shabaab has seized two key towns in central Somalia, deepening its 2025 offensive to reestablish control zones in the region and reconnect them with its strongholds in the country’s south.
The group captured El Hareeri in the Hiraan region on June 11 after a six-day battle with Somali security forces, local officials confirmed.
“El Hareeri is a strategic junction,” a regional security official told Somali state media. “Its road networks link to Moqokori and Mahas—the only towns in southeastern Hiraan still under government control.”
Al Shabaab had advanced within 45 miles of both towns by mid-April, approaching from the east, west, and south, according to the same official, who was not authorized to speak on the record.
On June 3, the group also took control of Hawadley, about 39 miles north of Mogadishu, in the Shabelle River valley. The town lies along a critical north-south corridor between Bal’ad and Jowhar—the regional capital of Middle Shabelle and the seat of Hirshabelle state.
The river valley, a contested zone, has seen Al Shabaab infiltrations since March as the group seeks to relink its central and southern support bases. Security analysts say the area could become a staging ground for future attacks on Mogadishu or central supply routes.
“The capture of Hawadley is a tactical gain,” said Kathryn Tyson, a regional analyst. “It increases pressure on the Somali government to hold its remaining positions in the region.”
Floods in early June may delay Al Shabaab’s immediate ability to consolidate in Hawadley, though the long-term threat remains.
Since launching its offensive in early 2025, Al Shabaab has regained several key towns, including Adan Yabal—its former central administrative capital, which Somali forces had seized in December 2022. These moves have allowed the group to reconnect strategic corridors and buffer its positions in Galgadud.
The Somali National Army (SNA) did score a symbolic win on June 6, when an airstrike killed a senior Al Shabaab commander, Nur Abdi Roble—also known as Nuunuule—in El Hareeri. The strike also eliminated a logistics officer and a senior field commander.
“Roble was a key figure,” the Somali Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “He oversaw operations across four regions and was behind several high-profile attacks.”
Roble had been part of Al Shabaab for 17 years and orchestrated the deadly August 2023 assault in Cowsweyne that killed dozens of Somali troops and led to a withdrawal from strategic areas in Galmudug.
However, analysts caution that the killing is unlikely to disrupt the group’s momentum.
“Al Shabaab is structured to survive leadership losses,” said Tyson. “They replaced their national leader within five days after the 2014 U.S. strike on Ahmed Godane.”
The current offensive threatens to roll back gains made during Somalia’s U.S.-supported counterterrorism push in 2022, which had been praised as a landmark Somali-led effort to retake territory. That momentum stalled in 2023, and by 2024, internal fractures began to unravel the government’s coalition.
“The failure to consolidate 2022 gains shows the structural weaknesses of the Somali Federal Government,” Tyson added. “Al Shabaab exploited those gaps with precision.”
If sustained, the offensive could deliver a major blow to Somalia’s efforts to restore national control and credibility—both at home and with international partners.
