http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/09/shabaab-captures-town-in-central-somalia.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LongWarJournalSiteWide+%28The+Long+War+Journal+%28Site-Wide%29%29
Shabaab captures town in central Somalia
By Caleb Weiss | September 21st, 2016 | weiss.caleb2_at_gmail.com | @Weissenberg7
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, has claimed control of a
town in the central Somalian region of Hiraan in recent days.
According to local news and Shabaab-affiliated outlets, the town of
Mogokori was captured after Ethiopian troops withdrew from the region.
Ethiopian troops first captured the town from Shabaab in 2014.
A Shabaab-affiliated Telegram account released a report earlier today
in which the jihadist group claimed control over Mogokori after the
Ethiopian troops that were previously stationed there left. The
statement, which was later translated into English by al Qaeda’s
Global Islamic Media Front, also states that the Ethiopian
fortifications outside of the city were also captured. Photos
purporting to show these claims were also released on Shabaab’s Radio
Andalus website.
However, local media has confirmed these claims. Garowe Online, a
Somali-website, reported that the entire Mogokori district has also
fallen to jihadist forces.
This comes only a few days after Shabaab also claimed control over the
town of Budbud in the Galguduud Region, also after Ethiopian troops
reportedly withdrew from the town. Additionally, Ethiopian forces were
reportedly ambushed yesterday near the town of Elbur in Galguduud.
However, there were no reports of casualties.
In southern Somalia, the jihadist group also claimed it took over the
town of Elwak near the border with Kenya. However, Somali troops
reportedly recaptured the town a day later. In the capital of
Mogadishu over the weekend, a suicide bombing near the Somali Ministry
of Defence headquarters left a Somali general and several other troops
dead.
Despite an African Union-led offensive that has been backed by covert
US airstrikes and has cost Shabaab territory in the south over the
past several years, the jihadist group remains a potent force in the
country. It continues to exhibit the ability to launch complex
operations in the capital, and has harassed African Union and Somali
forces in both southern and central Somalia. In some instances over
the past nine months, Shabaab has been able to recapture the cities of
Marka, El Ade, and Badhadhe after both African Union and Somali troops
were forced to withdraw.
As these forces retreat from towns like Budbud or Mogokori, Shabaab
will continue to slip into these locations afterwards and claim
control.
Photos showing Shabaab in control of Mogokori town and the nearby
Ethiopian fortifications:
Caleb Weiss is an intern at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
and a contributor to The Long War Journal.
Received on Wed Sep 21 2016 - 20:22:07 EDT