By Munira Abdelmenan Awel

ANKARA

Somali regional leaders have agreed to form their own unified force against al-Shabaab, a terrorist group responsible for multiple deadly attacks in the Horn of Africa country.  

The agreement came on Thursday at the fourth conference of Somalia’s Council of Interstate Cooperation (CIC) held in Garowe, Puntland, among four regional members of Somalia’s Federal Member States (FMS).   

“Within two months, the Council agreed to draw 1,000 soldiers from each FMS, integrate and train them together for a smooth, seamless and unified offensive against terrorists,” a final communique from the meeting said.   

The CIC states said they were stopping security cooperation with the Federal Government of Somalia due to the failure to implement agreed-upon security measures.   

"Since the current Government came into power in February 2017, security has fallen apart and the country is on the brink of falling into the hands of al-Shabaab again," said the statement.  

The CIC heads and participants discussed security, politics, and social issues to release a common communique critical of the Federal Government of Somalia.  

Somalia currently has six regional states including Puntland, Galmudug, Jubaland, South West State, Hirshabelle and Somaliland.  

The states of Hirshabelle and Somaliland did not participate in the conference.