Amisom Troops Vow to Defend Against Al Shabaab Attack

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is not taking the recent war rhetoric gesture from Islamist hardliners slightly, says spokesman.Major Barigye Bahoku, the AMISOM spokesman, said that the new threats from Al Shabaab fighters to take over the Somali presidential palace by force are just hot air and would be dealt with accordingly."If they attack, we will reply and we will not allow Al-Shabaab to capture Villa Somalia."He advised the insurgents to concentrate their energy on building peace, saying he does not believe that military solutions, use of violence and gun is the way to solve the problems of Somalia.His remarks come after Al-Shabaab governor in Mogadishu, Sheikh Ali Mohmmed Hussein urged fighters to capture the palace Meanwhile, the Somali government has rejected media reports of an attack on the Presidential Palace by al-Shabab fighters."As for the opposition's erroneous claim that they will attack and capture the Presidency that too is a pure fantasy and won't happen, because they have been repeating the same stuff since January 2009," the government statement said on Tuesday.A powerful insurgency that erupted in early 2007 has killed more than 21,000 people and is threatening to unseat the fragile western-backed government.
However, some 5,300 AU troops are keeping guard of strategic sites such as the presidential palace, seaport and airport in Mogadishu.