MOGADISHU, Somalia – William Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), made an unannounced visit to Mogadishu on Wednesday, marking his second trip to Somalia.
Reliable sources said Director Burns engaged in talks with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and intelligence chief Abdullahi Sanbalolshe at Halane, a military compound housing foreign embassies, including those of the U.S., UN, AU, and other international organizations in Mogadishu.
Their meeting reportedly focused on regional issues of mutual interest and enhancing the Somalia-U.S. strategic partnership in critical areas, including counterterrorism.
Burns also met with senior Somali officials during discussions with President Mohamud, but the specifics of his visit remain unclear, as he departed from the capital the same day, sources said.
Earlier this year, Burns visited Mogadishu, where he met with President Mohamud and Mahad Salad, then-director of Somalia’s intelligence. They discussed security, counterterrorism efforts, and Somalia’s tensions with Ethiopia.
Burns’ visit coincides with an increase in U.S. military airstrikes against Al Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked group. Somalia believes these air raids have significantly weakened the terrorists’ ability to carry out attacks.
For nearly a decade, the U.S. military has operated a base in Balidogele, Lower Shabelle, about 100 km north of Mogadishu, where it trains the Danab brigade as an elite strike force in Somalia’s fight against Al Shabab.
Despite losing control of many towns, the al-Qaeda-linked group has intensified its attacks in retaliation for President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s declaration of an “all-out war” to remove them from Somalia.
Driven out of Mogadishu in 2011, the group continues to execute deadly attacks, including suicide bombings in the capital and beyond. For over a decade, they have sought to topple the Somali government and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
The al-Qaeda-linked group maintains control over significant territory in southern and central Somalia, using these areas to launch deadly attacks against Somali National Army bases, African Union peacekeepers, and targets in the capital, Mogadishu.
