Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, in military uniform, has returned to the frontline areas in Middle Shabelle region on Tuesday.
He had previously left two days ago to meet a delegation led by the Chairman of the African Union, Mahmoud Ali Yusuf in Mogadishu.
President Mohamud will resume meetings with community elders while organizing Somali national army (SNA) and Ma’awisley fighters in the region.
He seeks to lead operations on the front lines and be alongside SNA troops to liberate areas under Al Shabab’s control.
Meanwhile, his security forces in the Middle Shabelle region have tightened security, while he directs efforts toward undisclosed areas.
Reliable sources say President Mohamud is determined to remove Al-Shabaab from the Shabelle region, where they have exerted heavy pressure.
Adan-Yabal, the last government stronghold, recently received reinforcements from Hiran, bolstering the offensive against Al-Shabaab.
Somali government is determined to defeat the al Qaeda-linked group, despite a surge of its ambush and dawn attacks in the region.
Since mid-last month, Al-Shabab has intensified attacks in the Middle and Lower Shabelle and Hiran regions.
Driven out of Mogadishu in 2011, the al-Qaeda-linked group continues to carry out deadly attacks.
For over a decade, the militant group has fought to impose a hardline interpretation of Sharia law in Somalia.
Al-Shabab still controls large swaths of southern and central Somalia.
