Friday, September 30, 2011

Heavy fighting in Somali border town. Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab Terroris launches offensive in south

update Somalia: Clam Returns to Key Border Town, Victories Over Battle Claime -

Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab Terroris Update
(Reuters) - Somali militants launched an offensive on border towns in southern Somalia, killing government troops, residents and officials said on Friday.Somalia's al Shabaab launches offensive in south  In what Western powers considered a strategic victory, government troops and African peacekeepers last month drove the al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab rebels out of the capital Mogadishu, as the group suffered from internal divisions, a reported lack of combatants and funding shortages.But the insurgents' latest assault shows they remain capable of launching major attacks for territorial gains at a time when aid groups are struggling to help more than 1 million Somalis struck by famine in southern and central Somalia...more

Heavy fighting in Somali border town.
Mogadishu - Heavy fighting broke out on Friday close to Somalia's border with Kenya as extremist Shabaab fighters launched a dawn attack on the town of Dhobley but were later repelled, fighters on both sides said."The fighting was very heavy but we emerged victorious, there are casualties on both sides," a senior commander of the Azania militia group controlling the area told AFP by phone from the battleground.
Dhobley is under control of forces from the self-declared state of Azania, an anti-Shabaab militia reportedly backed by Kenya to create a buffer zone along the troubled frontier."We have fully regained Dhobley after a fight, the Shabaab were pushed out of the area," the Azanian commander added, declining to be named.Civilian casualties are reported to be high with fighting inside the town itself.However, a senior Shabaab commander said his fighters had made a tactical withdrawal a short distance outside the town after intense fighting."The enemy suffered heavy casualties as planned, and we will return back again when it is good for us," said Sheikh Mohamed, claiming that Shabaab fighters had also seized large stores of weapons from the town.
Dhobley is just 5km from the Kenyan border, and is a key crossing point for people fleeing to the giant Dadaab refugee camps, some 100km into eastern Kenya.Dadaab, the largest refugee complex in the world houses some 450 000 people, with 140 000 Somalis fleeing drought, famine or violence arriving this year alone, according to the UN refugee agency.Civilians and fighters were reported to have crossed the border towards the Kenyan town of Liboi, while Kenyan tanks and helicopters were reported in the area.- AFP Via new24

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