Government troops conduct search operations in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (TF.SF)—Somali government soldiers have conducted search operations on Thursday in parts of the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses say.The government soldiers armed with armoured vehicles blocked two main streets in the capital early on Thursday in Hamar Jajab and Hamarweyne districts in Mogadishu.Residents say the government soldiers were checking mines in the streets of the two districts where it is suspected that the militants planted roadside bombs.The government soldiers have also conducted search operations in these two districts on Wednesday and arrested more teenagers who were accused of working with the Islamist rebels.“We could not go out of our homes, because some government soldiers refused us to go out,” said Jamal, a resident in Afisyoni neighbourhood in Mogadishu.

Some residents in the capital have expressed fear about war preparations that are going on in the capital.The Somali government announced plans to retake all the districts in Mogadishu from the Islamist rebels by force and the rebels are also preparing to defend any possible attacks.