MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 47 people have been killed in central Somalia in fighting between Islamist rebels and a pro-government group for control of a strategic town, a human rights group and residents said on Sunday. Al Shabaab, which seeks to impose strict Islamic rule on Somalia, attacked Dusamareb, 560 km (350 miles) north of the capital on Saturday, pounding positions of moderate Muslim group Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca. The clashes were the first in the town since December 2008 when the Ahlu Sunna took it after ousting al Shabaab fighters. The town is the capital of the central region of Galgadud, coveted by al Shabaab, who would like to extend their area of control between Mogadishu and the pro-government northeast region of Puntl"We have counted 47 dead bodies and one hundred injured," Ali Yasin Gedi, vice chairman of Elman peace and human rights group told Reuters. "Most of the casualties are from the two groups. The death toll might be double that as residents are still collecting bodies from alleys and under the trees. The whole region is tense and residents are fleeing from other towns." A town resident agreed with Gedi's assessment: "We have collected 77 dead bodies from inside and around Dusamareb town. We have reports that there are more dead bodies in the suburbs of the town. Yesterday afternoon's fighting was very fierce," local elder Hussein Aden told Reuters by phone. Ahlu Sunna's spokesman said they had regained the town after losing it briefly to al Shabaab on Saturday. "Our forces are in full control of the town now. We have chased them away from here yesterday. Their dead bodies packed the streets. We will surely pursue them in the other towns they went to," Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Abu Yusuf, told Reuters. Another resident said the presence of Ahlu Sunna's fighters on the streets of the town was not wholly re-assuring. "We are afraid al Shabaab will attack again here. We are civilians, our sole power is to flee," Abdullahi Bile said.
Al Shabaab, which Washington accuses of being al Qaeda's proxy in the region, was not immediately available for comment. The insurgency led by al Shabaab has undermined Western efforts to install an effective government in the country, which has been without one for the last 19 years. Its prime minister said the government was ready to launch an offensive against the rebels, who are causing growing concerns due to their ability to team up with their counterparts in the Arabian Peninsula and perpetrate attacks. "Our troops are prepared to act, and flush these terrorists out of the capital before the end of January, and continue taking over the control of more territories from these fighters," Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke told Reuters in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
(Additional reporting by Abdiaziz Hassan in Nairobi; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Angus MacSwan) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/03/AR2010010300611.html
RivaBattle for Somali town kills at least 11: residentsSectarian Fighting Erupts in Central Somalia l Islamists Fight for Town in Somalia,Battle for Somali town kills at least 11: residents
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir
Sultan Kenadid
Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan
Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Designation of Al-Shabaab
SOMALI REPUBLICANS
About Us
The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.
Blog Archive
-
▼
2010
(2294)
-
▼
January
(219)
- Problems in the VOA-Somali Service..Abdirahman Yab...
- Somalia Special report: The rise of 'the African ...
- Al Shabaab Terrorist bases attacked
- Snuff out militant Islam's lethal spark - kill bin...
- African summit hears world ignoring Somalia crisis...
- Explosions Raise Fears Over Somaliland region of s...
- Habar-Gidir Hawiye Kidnap British hostages poorly ...
- Chasing peace in Somalia
- Somali president off to Addis Ababa for AU summit
- Kenya Deports 16 Somalis
- Al Shabab's reign of terror grips Somalia
- Somali President Vows to Defeat Insurgents
- Bloodshed mars Somalia presidency’s anniversary
- Law official: Passenger on flight not terroris
- UN urges new approach to fight Somali piracy,Navie...
- Weekly Homeland Security News Briefing
- Pirates looted Sh45bn last year: report
- Heavy fighting in Somali capital kills 19,Islamic ...
- How al-Shabaab Targets Western Youth
- Premier discusses with Danish State Secretary
- Somalian Government Celebrates first Anniversary
- The Jihadist Next Door
- Fifth Plenary Meeting of the Contact Group on Pira...
- Mogadishu raids mar Somali leader Ahmed's anniversary
- Al-Qaeda's Yemeni branch reveals links to Somalia ...
- Attack by militant group leaves 12 dead in Somalia
- Omar Jamal address the problem at the meeting of...
- Moderate Islamists to defeat al Shabaab
- 8-year-old boy seriously wounded in Somalia dies, ...
- U.S. Army Supports Burundi's Efforts in Somalia, D...
- Somalia Islamist group bans video games
- What is needed is a system to verify the payment o...
- Somali form somaliland region Jehadest Accused o...
- Ask The Expert: Will Yemen Become A Major Al-Qaeda...
- World powers meet on Yemen after US jet plot,West ...
- N.Y. federal prosecutors pursue foreign cases aggr...
- Obama: My Qaeda Body Count is Higher Than Bush's
- Kenya urges U.S. to mobilize global support for So...
- Uncle Who Vouched for Terror Suspect Arrested
- PM Meles Zenawi addresses Ethiopians on the tragic...
- Why Al-Shabaab, an affiliate terrorist organizatio...
- Woman Killed for Refusing to Wear Veil
- Fighting in central Somalia kills at least 16
- Somalia Troops Fight Militants
- Somalia Women on Music Censorship
- US: Kenya travel advisory to stay
- UPDF soldier killed in Somalia attack,Shabaab suic...
- U.S. military teams, intelligence deeply involved ...
- Italy says Afghan meet should look at Somalia
- Battle for key western Somali town kills eight
- Islamic Militants in Somalia Murder Christian Leader
- Kenyan troops Exchange fire with Al-Shabab
- HDNet World Report Investigates a Growing Terroris...
- Al Shabaab claims responsibility for explosion at ...
- AU, UN delegation visits Mogadishu
- Al-Shabab imposes new rules in Learning centers
- Bomb kills 4 policemen in breakaway Somaliland
- EU agrees to train Somali troops
- Somalia's Shebab name market after slain Qaeda boss
- Beirut: 90 feared dead as Ethiopian Airlines plane...
- SOMALIA: Plan to integrate ex-militias into securi...
- Somalia, Sudan top agenda of OIC meet in Uganda,Te...
- AHLU-SUNNA – The New Kid In The Block
- Ethiopia attracts new foreign investment
- Kenyans killed in riot over Islamic cleric's arres...
- We'll quash Islam terror threats, says Mubarak
- England's football World Cup stars under Al-Qaeda ...
- world's most wanted terrorist Bin-Laden Claims Fl...
- Al-Shabaab associate sentenced to death in Puntland
- Somalia’s booming piracy trade
- Kenya on alert over militia scare, Donors pledge ...
- Sweden rattled by Somali militants in its midst
- Somalia's Former PM to Face Charges
- UK students recruited for Somali jihad
- Ethiopian to fly to Toronto
- African Union: Address Justice and Accountability
- News Radical Muslim back: ‘I’m happy to be home,’...
- Qaeda threat compounds woes of Yemen's Somali refu...
- Britain botched rescue attempt for Somalia hostages
- Terrorist attack is "highly likely" security servi...
- Islamist Rebels Take Central Somali Town, Eight Dead
- Shabaab looks to the Somali North
- Fears Increase Over Insurgents in Somalia Threaten...
- Somali Islamists chop off phone thief's hand
- Somali terror suspect being sent to halfway house
- Somali terror suspect rerleased from Seattle jail
- AP Interview: Interpol hunting pirate money
- Kenya may deport muslim clerk by sea,Faisal deport...
- COLUMN - American nightmare - Al Qaeda at home
- The radical Islamist group al-Shabab Accused of Cr...
- Somali hardline rebels threaten Kenya attack,Somal...
- Center for jihad apologist (CJA) Files Responden...
- Local Lawmaker Shot Dead In Northeast Somalia
- French FM rallies support for Somali president
- Watch The Pirates, Sweden to strengthen its commit...
- 'Al Qaeda expanding beyond nerve centre in Pakista...
- A somali lawmaker killed in a cold blood
- Stop hiding in Kenya, Somali MPs told .. mostly ...
- Scots firm's laser gun to foil Somali pirates. 6 p...
-
▼
January
(219)
Al-Qaida in Somalia. ...
We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa
The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.
No comments:
Post a Comment