Somalia’s intelligence chief fired 1,500 intelligence officers including the Mogadishu chief in a new major shakeup of the country’s spy agency which is struggling to contain a deadly insurgency by al-Shabab militants, sources told Alleastafrica Saturday.

Gen. Abdullahi Gafow told the officers to abandon their positions, accusing them of failing to perform their duties, saying that he’d ‘re-energize’ the agency’s leadership to bring ‘more competent’ officers to defeat militants, according to sources in the Somali intelligence agency who spoke to Alleastafrica by phone from Mogadishu.

Abdihakim Farei, the agency’s Mogadishu commanding officer becomes the latest officer to be dismissed by Mr. Gafow who vowed opening a ‘new page’ for the spy agency.

However, for some officer the bad news shouldn’t come as a surprise that militants continue to unleash relentless lethal attacks across the Somali capital.

Since taking the agency’s leadership few months ago has sought to overcome rivalry and deep divisions within the Somali intelligence agency in the face of rising power of al-Shabab which threatened with attacks against the upcoming Somali presidential election which is scheduled to take place in November 30.