Odowaa Yusuf Rageh (Odowaa Yuusuf Raage)

In short

Odowaa Yusuf Rageh is a Somali army officer. He led the army during much of the federal government's campaign against al-Shabaab. This page records what the sources report. The full list of army chiefs is at Commanders of the Somali army.

Early career and training

Wikipedia records that he was born in Mahaday, Middle Shabelle, and lists his birth date as 14 April 1987. It records that he joined the army of the transitional government, trained in Uganda in VIP protection, went to Sudan for officer training in 2009, served in the protection unit at Villa Somalia, and trained in Turkey from 2013, including two years at a Turkish army war institute. He became deputy commander of the army in August 2018 (Wikipedia, Odowaa Yusuf Rageh). See Turkey's military in Somalia.

First term as army commander

He became commander of the Somali National Army under President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo. On 13 July 2020 a car packed with explosives targeted his convoy as it left the defence ministry compound in Mogadishu. He survived; at least one person was killed and two were injured. The army spokesman, Abdiqani Ali Ashkir, said "security forces shot and killed the driver before the car packed with explosives detonated." Voice of America described him as having a reputation "as a fighter against Islamists" and called the attack the first attempt in several years on the life of a senior military leader (VOA, 15 July 2020). He remained in post under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud until June 2023, when Ibrahim Sheikh Muhyadin Addow replaced him (Wikipedia).

Second term, 2024–2026

On Saturday 9 November 2024 the cabinet, at an emergency meeting, dismissed Ibrahim Sheikh Muhyadin Addow and brought back Odowaa, who had led operations against al-Shabaab under the president's "all-out war". The prime minister's office said his return would "speed up the defense of the country and eliminate the Khawarij groups", the government's term for al-Shabaab (Anadolu Agency, 11 November 2024). See The offensive against al-Shabaab, 2022 to 2025.

On 29 January 2026 the cabinet dismissed him and endorsed Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamud as his successor. Information Minister Daud Aweis said the change would advance "military modernization"; no reason was given for Odowaa's removal (A News, Anadolu, 29 January 2026).

Sources differ

• Start of his first term. 22 August 2019 in Wikipedia's text; 27 August 2020 in its table and infobox.
• Early career. Wikipedia's text says he joined the army after secondary school in 2000; its promotions table starts in 2007.

Read the primary sources yourself

• Voice of America, "Somali general survives suicide bomb attack" (2020): article.
• Anadolu Agency, "Somali cabinet fires army chief, reappoints predecessor" (2024): article.