The town of Beledweyne in central Somalia has been a hotbed of militancy for the past few weeks. In fact, it has been the target of several al Shabaab attacks, most notably the Nov. 19 attack against a base housing Somali policemen and Djiboutian peacekeepers. The attack involved a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and suicide bombers, and militants conducted secondary attacks throughout the city following the raid.
Al Shabaab forces also managed to wrest control of several smaller villages near Beledweyne from the Djiboutian-backed Somali military Nov. 27. Forced to withdraw to Beledweyne, these soldiers, including peacekeepers operating under the African Union Mission to Somalia, have struggled to secure the town and the surrounding region. However, the security forces did recapture the towns of Bar, Luuq Jeeloow and Shabelley, immediately south of Beledweyne, by Nov. 28. Djiboutian and Somali forces also took the village of Buq Gosar to the west, which has been under al Shabaab control for the past three years.
Beledweyne, the capital of the Hiiraan region, is important by virtue of its location. Mogadishu lies to the south, Ethiopia to the north, the major population center of Baidoa to the southwest and Galkayo, located in the northern Somali region of Puntland, to the northeast. Beledweyne thus is critical to the Somali military and to African Union forces, which include Ethiopian troops as well as Djiboutians, as they attempt to stabilize Somalia. The town also represents an important node in al Shabaab's supply lines, the maintenance of which enables them to continue their fight.
While other places of Somalia such as Kismayo and Mogadishu have also witnessed persistent al Shabaab violence, the Beledweyne area has suffered from increased tempo and ferocity of attacks as the militant group attempts to reconquer villages and defend them against security forces. Beledweyne is a strategic location for both sides in the Somali conflict, and thus the focus of an elevated struggle.
