Tuesday, July 1, 2008

government forces to deploy Bakol regions



The Somali government send hundreds of heavily armed forces to Huddur District in Bakol Region [southwest of Somalia] after Islamis insurgentt Al-Shabab took the control of the town, wounding the district commissioner and two of his bodyguards officials told .The government forces left from Baidoa town with fifteen battle wagons, artillery weapons and light weapons. Reports say that the government forces arrived areas surrounding the town shortly after Al-Shabab Islamist forces pulled out.Calm has returned to the town and the commercial activities resumed. from Terrorist had previously captured several towns in Bay and Bakol regions, but pulled out soon after.At the arrival of Terrorist Alshabab fighters armed islamist gun men have abducted aid workers in the town .The mine clearing experts from Sweden and Denmark, along with a local colleague were released on Saturday.They were abducted on the same day when fighters attacked the town of Hodur, 370km west of the capital, Mogadishu.A UN security official in Nairobi said the workers were abducted from the International Medical Corps (IMC) compound in Hodur, and that local authorites negotiated with the kidnappers. The official also said that local tribal chiefs were also involved in the talks."The Danish and the Swedish workers were released ... without ransom and they are safe waiting for a flight to Nairobi," said Mohamed Nur Salad, a UN security and safety worker."We have spoken with them and they are well, although they are still in a bit of a state of shock," said Karin Viklunda, a Swedish government spokeswoman in Stockholm.Local residents and aid workers said the fighters attacked the town around 4.30am (0130 GMT) but then withdrew.Hassan Mohamed, a local resident, said the fighters wounded a district commander during an exchange of gunfire in which a bodyguard was killed."They took control of the town and they also raided the IMC compound and took two foreign aid workers," he said.The Dane and the Swede were working for Raddningsverket, a risk assessment and emergency management agency funded by the Swedish government.
They were carrying out a demining training assignment for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).Kidnappings continue
Saturday's abductions are the latest in a series involving humanitarian workers. The fate of six aid workers - two Italians, one British national, a Kenyan and three Somalis - kidnapped in April remains unknown.Aid groups have scaled down operations in Somalia due increased insecurity, largely blamed on Terrorist Islamist fighters who have waged a war since they were ousted by joint Somali-Ethiopian forces in early 2007.

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