The African Union force in the Somalia capital says progress is being made against militants in Mogadishu.The African Union said Saturday that AU and Somali troops have expelled al-Shabab militants from two more districts in the capital.The AU force also said the body of a suspected militant from Pakistan was recovered after fighting Saturday.Col. Paul Lokech, a Ugandan commander, said the militants have been pushed back from Villa Somalia, where the Somali government is housed, and that they no longer pose a threat against the government seat.Somalia has not had a fully functioning government in two decades. The recent offensive against al-Shabab has succeeded in reducing the militants' territory.
African Union forces capture last western outpost in Mogadishu
(CNN) -- Somali government forces and African Union troops pushed al Qaeda-linked militants out of its last outpost in the western part of Mogadishu, opening the main artery to the famed Bakaara Market, the African Union Mission to Somalia said Friday.
It's the latest action in a months-long military campaign designed to push al-Shabaab fighters out of the Somali capital. African Union peacekeeping forces, who have been operating under a U.N. mandate, say the military action is designed to inhibit al-Shabaab's ability to hide behind civilians and limit civilian casualties, the African Union has said.
The capture Thursday of Damanyo, a militant outpost in western Mogadishu, opens one of the city's main arteries to the famed Bakaara Market, the African Union said in statement released Friday. The market is the city's commercial hub and the site where one of two U.S. Blackhawk helicopters were downed by militants in 1993.
Raging street battles in the capital since February have pitted government troops, backed by the African Union, against the jihadist movement al-Shabaab, which controls much of southern Somalia.
Al-Shabaab is waging a war against Somalia's government in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law, or sharia. Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, and fighting between the rebels and government troops has escalated the humanitarian crisis in the famine-ravaged country
African Union forces capture last western outpost in Mogadishu
(CNN) -- Somali government forces and African Union troops pushed al Qaeda-linked militants out of its last outpost in the western part of Mogadishu, opening the main artery to the famed Bakaara Market, the African Union Mission to Somalia said Friday.
It's the latest action in a months-long military campaign designed to push al-Shabaab fighters out of the Somali capital. African Union peacekeeping forces, who have been operating under a U.N. mandate, say the military action is designed to inhibit al-Shabaab's ability to hide behind civilians and limit civilian casualties, the African Union has said.
The capture Thursday of Damanyo, a militant outpost in western Mogadishu, opens one of the city's main arteries to the famed Bakaara Market, the African Union said in statement released Friday. The market is the city's commercial hub and the site where one of two U.S. Blackhawk helicopters were downed by militants in 1993.
Raging street battles in the capital since February have pitted government troops, backed by the African Union, against the jihadist movement al-Shabaab, which controls much of southern Somalia.
Al-Shabaab is waging a war against Somalia's government in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law, or sharia. Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, and fighting between the rebels and government troops has escalated the humanitarian crisis in the famine-ravaged country
The peacekeeping force is charged with protecting key government and strategic installations in Mogadishu, including the port, airport and presidential palace. It is the de facto military force of the weak, transitional Somali government.
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