http://ph.news.yahoo.com/somali-african-troops-capture-town-islamists-075246292.htmlSomali
and African troops capture town from Islamists 3/14/2014
Somali government forces backed by African Union troops captured a sixth
settlement in the latest advance in their renewed offensive against
Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab fighters, a spokesman said Friday.
Shebab gunmen are reported to have fled ahead of the assault on Thursday on
the small town of Buula Burde, in the southern Hiran region bordering
Ethiopia, Ali Houmed said, spokesman of the African Union's AMISOM force.
"There was some fighting at the entrance to the town as the Shebab tried to
ambushes and attack our forces, but they did not last long," Houmed told
AFP.
"Their forces disappeared as we advanced to secure the town," he added.
Hardline Shebab insurgents once controlled most of southern and central
Somalia but withdrew from fixed positions in Mogadishu two years ago.
However, guerrilla units stage regular deadly attacks in the capital
Mogadishu, and claimed responsibility for last year's deadly attack in
neighbouring Kenya, when commandos stormed the upmarket Westgate mall,
shooting shoppers and hurling grenades.
Government and AU troops have also come under repeated hit and run attacks
in rural areas surrounding the settlements they capture.
AMISOM chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif boasted that the capture of Buula Burde
was "a major victory", in a statement released late Thursday, calling the
dusty settlement a "supply nerve centre" for the Shebab.
After a series of sweeping victories in 2012, AMSIOM had remained largely
static, hampered by limited troops and air power to advance again.
But the UN-mandated force launched a new offensive earlier this month
against the Islamist fighters, after Ethiopian soldiers joined to push
troop numbers to some 22,000.
The UN reports that thousands of civilians are fleeing to escape expected
fighting, warning that the offensive is expected to "directly affect scores
of districts and regions" where some three million people live.
"Humanitarian access due to the volatile security situation remains a major
challenge," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said
in a statement.
UN envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay this week told the Security Council the
offensive would be "the most significant and geographically extensive
military advance" since AMISOM started operations in 2007.
But Kay also warned the security situation in the capital Mogadishu had
"deteriorated" in the last three months.
Recent Shebab attacks in the capital have targeted key areas of government
or the security forces, in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the
authorities that they are winning the war against them.
"Times are tough, and in the short term, may get tougher," Kay warned.
Received on Fri Mar 14 2014 - 07:22:37 EDT