Hiiraan Online
Thursday August 22, 2019
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Fahad Yasin will now be the substantive head of the intelligence agency NISA following a major shakeup in the security sector Thursday that saw army chief Dahir Adan Elmi relieved of his duties a year into the job.
Yasin who has been the deputy director general of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) for about ten months was Thursday elevated to the top of the agency. He was moved from Villa Somalia as chief of staff in August 2018.
General Odowaa Yusuf Raage who has been the head of the SNA ground forces replaced his boss Elmi as head of the military in the new shakeup as the Federal Government sought to deflect attention from Jubbaland where its political foe Ahmed Madobe secured a second term in office.
The changes also affected the police force which welcomed deputy army ChiefAbdi Hassan Hajar as its new boss as MahadAbdirahman Adan took charge in the prisons department.
The elevation of Yasin who was instrumental in the election of President Mohamed Farmaajo and closely allied to Qatar comes as no surprise but marks a milestone in the fight for the much coveted position among Villa Somalia mandarins.
Raage has been credited for leading major military operations since his appointment to the position last year including the recent capture of the strategic Awdeeghle town in the Lower Shabelle region which had hitherto been under the grip of Al-Shabaab.