Islamic fighters retreat from Mogadishu,Somali President Says Parts of Capital Recaptured

ISLAMIC insurgents have retreated from areas around Somalia’s presidential palace after a day of fighting that killed dozens of people and wounded about 150, witnesses said yesterday.
Gunshots could still be heard, but insurgent fighters and government troops returned to their earlier positions.Somali military spokesperson Farhan Asanyo said the government had made a strategic retreat.“Instead of chasing and forcing them to melt into the community, we prefer our enemy to come and face us at the front lines so that they taste the death as they did yesterday,” Asanyo said.Sunday’s fighting marked the first time African Union (AU) peacekeepers directly intervened to support government forces.The AU was forced to intervene after the insurgents fought their way to just over a kilometre away from the presidential palace, Mogadishu Deputy Mayor Abdifitah Shawey said.The 4300 beleaguered peacekeepers generally try to avoid being drawn into the conflict to preserve their neutrality.They defend the capital’s port, airport and key government buildings.Islamic insurgents with alleged ties to al-Qaeda recently intensified their efforts to capture Mogadishu after an exiled leader returned in April and pulled the disparate insurgent factions together into an alliance.“It is quite calm today here, but the fighting may erupt at any time,” said Mogadishu resident Abukar Jimale.The UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said civilians were bearing most of the violence, adding that the Somali forces were being cautious....more..http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7842825920252114461&postID=6119097078763161187
Somali President Says Parts of Capital Recaptured
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