The strategic town of Bariire, Somalia, was today retaken from Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, commonly known as al-Shabaab, by joint UPDF and Somali National Army (SNA) troops after an intense battle lasting over three weeks.
Colonel Chris Magezi, the Military Assistant to the Chief of Defence Forces (UPDF), said Bariire is the second town in the country’s Lower Shabelle region to be liberated by the UPDF from the militant group after Sabid-Anole fell in June 2025.
Col Magezi said the UPDF troops are operating under the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), a transitional mechanism designed to eventually hand over responsibility for security to the Somali security forces led by the SNA.
He also noted that the presence of the resurgent and internationally recognised terrorist group in areas close to Mogadishu had threatened to undermine the relatively stable security situation in the country’s main city in recent years, warranting the ongoing counteroffensive against the Islamic fundamentalist organisation by joint AU and SNA troops.