Somali troops seized a town on the outskirts of Mogadishu from Islamist militants on Friday after three days of fighting, the biggest victory over al-Shabab since the Somali government forces took control of the capital last August.
African Union and Somali troops seized a town on the outskirts of
Mogadishu on Friday from Islamist militants after three days of
fighting, marking the biggest victory over al-Shabab since the
pro-government forces took control of the capital last August.
A
top United Nations official, meanwhile, announced that a presidential
election in Somalia will be held on Aug. 20 — with votes cast by
lawmakers instead of by ordinary Somalis because of continued insecurity
in the country.
Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, the spokesman for African
Union forces, said the troops moved into Afgoye on Friday and that most
of the town was under the coalition's control.
More than 300,000
internally displaced Somalis live in and around Afgoye, located 30
kilometers (20 miles) north of Mogadishu. Thousands fled the area in
overloaded vans and donkey carts the previous two days amid gunfire and
explosions.
African Union "and Somali troops are here now, and
al-Shabab abandoned the town," resident Aden Muse said by phone. "The
fighting has stopped and people are indoors. We hope no more fighting
will happen."
Soldiers have taken positions in the police and district headquarters, residents said.
"Tomorrow will be a new beginning for us," said another resident, Ubah Salad.
The
U.N. representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, said Friday at a
news conference in neighboring Kenya that the pro-government forces
needed to capture Afgoye for military and humanitarian reasons. He said
al-Shabab manufactured its bombs in Afgoye and that the town "controls
the exit and the entries to Mogadishu.
"And it has been the
military concentration and headquarters of the Shabab. Hitting Afgoye
would make a significant military breakthrough in the region of
Mogadishu," the U.N. official said.
The Afgoye corridor between
Mogadishu and Afgoye is home to the largest concentration of internally
displaced people in the world, Mahiga added. He said aid agencies plan
to begin helping them.
The U.N. recently approved a near doubling
of the African Union force to more than 17,00 troops. Mahiga cautioned
that the new troops are deploying far from Mogadishu and that, with
pro-government forces being stretched, insurgents could infiltrate back
into areas that have already been seized near the capital.
Top notch! Somali General in prayers on the frontline "operation clear Alshabaab", this is a proof that we have Somali solders who are good Muslims that we can relay on, contrary to Alshabaab's baseless claims that all Somalis are kufaar except their misinformed deviated child solders
The
next Somali presidential election will take place on Aug. 20, Mahiga
said. Votes will be cast by members of a new 225-member parliament.
Voting isn't being opened to the public because of a lack of security
across the country.
Somalia
dissolved into anarchy in 1991 and has seen little government order
since. The AU's defeat of al-Shabab in Mogadishu is the first time the
capital has been secure in years. The U.N. and international community
is pushing Somali leaders to make an orderly transition to the next
phase of self-government with the election of a smaller parliament and a
new vote for president.
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