Puntland vice president arrives in Bosaso as Al-Shabab holds neighboring village

His visit to Bosaso was the first since he was elected vice president in January 2019.

“I paid my first visit to Bosaso to access security situation of Bari region, impact of the flash floods and humanitarian response to mitigate further damages.” He wrote on his Twitter.

Ahmed’s visit comes two days after militants from Al-Shabab captured Af Urur village, located about 60 km southwest of Bosaso, Puntland commercial town.

The top officials of the Puntland government did not comment on the capture of Af Urur.

In the last two years, Af Urur was the target of Al-Shabab militants who captured it twice.

In June 2017, Al-Shabab launched an attack against Puntland army base in Af Urur, killing about 30 soldiers, and looted weapons and ammunition. The terrorist group again attacked and captured the village in July 2018.