Somali Militants on the Defensive in Kismayo

NAIROBI — Somali civilians and military officials say al-Shabab militants have been exiting Kismayo in recent days, fearing an impending onslaught by Somali forces, African Union troops and allied militaries.

Some fighters said to be remaining behind may continue to pose a serious threat.

Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna says ground troops are about 50 kilometers from Kismayo, and advancing from the northwest and the south, backed by navy and air forces.

He says reports of al-Shabab fleeing the city are only “partly true,” adding that some elements may be planning to stay behind to snipe at allied forces when they enter the city.

But Oguna says he does not expect a tough fight against these remnants.

“We do not anticipate stiff resistance as we get into the city because the main commanders are leaving," said Oguna. "We do not expect the junior forces to fight without their commanders.  So we expect minimal resistance as we get to Kismayo.”

He also says the militants have dismantled a radio transmitter in Kismayo, a sign that they are no longer using the city as a base for operations.

"The radio that al-Shabab has been using to broadcast most of their statements is called Radio Andalus and the transmitter has been brought down," Oguna said. "So we reckon that they have removed it to take it to another location, possibly Jilib." 

Jilib is among the other small towns in central Somalia where al-Shabab commanders are believed to be heading to avoid the military assault.

Al-Shabab has denied its fighters are retreating from Kismayo and claim to be defending their positions in the city.

Kismayo is one of the largest remaining strongholds of the al-Qaida linked group, which has used the town's seaport to funnel in weapons and other supplies to support their insurgency.

The militants were driven out of the capital, Mogadishu, by African Union forces in August last year.  But the remnants that have remained behind in the capital continue to pose a serious threat by carrying out suicide bombings and other small scale, targeted attacks.

from VOA NEWS
by Gabe Joselow
September 18, 2012

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Kenya's Raila Odinga wants EU to attack Somalia's al-Shabab Islamists

Kenya's prime minister has asked for help from the US and Europe in a "final onslaught" on the Somali port of Kismayo, the main stronghold of the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

Raila Odinga said Kenyan forces would get to Kismayo by August and asked for both funds and troops.

He said beating al-Shabab would need "an operation by land, sea and air".

from BBC News, Africa
12 June 2012 Last updated at 12:43 GMT


EU warships are in the area to tackle pirates but attacking al-Shabab would be a huge escalation in their mission.

Such action does not fall under the EU's mandate.

The EU's anti-piracy mission has not yet responded to the call.

Its mandate was recently expanded to allow for land attacks against Somalia-based pirates.

Up to 10 warships are on patrol off the Horn of Africa as part of the EU's Atalanta operation, which was launched in 2008 to protect commercial shipping against pirate attacks.
'Neutralise al-Shabab'

African Union soldiers, Ethiopian forces and Somali government troops have in recent months succeeded in driving al-Shabab from several towns.

Kenyan forces moved into Somalia last October and have been slowly moving toward Kismayo.

Kismayo is considered strategically important because the al-Shabab militants who control it get a significant portion of their funds by levying "taxes" on the port.

"Without controlling Kismayo, it's very difficult to completely neutralise al-Shabab," Mr Odinga told journalists in Nairobi.

"It has taken time because our forces felt that to move in otherwise would have cost a lot of lives, both civilian and military."

Mr Odinga said he intended to ask the US to help pay for the assault.

He said the US had previously "resisted" providing funds until Kenyan forces joined the African Union force known as Amisom. They joined earlier this month.

"If they can also bring military assistance so much the better, but for now we are talking about financial assistance," he said.

He said the EU was "reluctant" to commit because Kismayo is an al-Shabab stronghold and not a pirate stronghold.

But he said the international community should work together to "create an environment in Somalia that will facilitate the voluntary return of Somalis to Somalia."

from BBC News, Africa
12 June 2012 Last updated at 12:43 GMT

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Somalia market bombing in Baidoa kills 11

At least 11 people have been killed by a bomb in the market area of the central Somali town of Baidoa.

The governor of the region, Abdifitah Mohamed Gesey, told the BBC that more than 30 other people had been badly injured - mostly women and children.

In February Ethiopian troops seized Baidoa from the Islamist militia al-Shabab.

Witnesses said the bomb exploded shortly after Somali government troops entered the market.

Mr Gesey blamed al-Shabab for the attack, but so far no organisation has said it was behind the attack.

African Union peacekeepers for the first time recently deployed to the town, which is on a strategically important route.

It is one of the biggest attacks in the area since Ethiopian and Somali forces took control.

Baidoa, 250 kilometres (155 miles) north-west of the capital Mogadishu, had been one of the most important al-Shabab bases.

Al-Shabab said it had withdrawn its forces as part of a "tactical retreat" and threatened to start a guerrilla war in response.

from BBC

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Somalia: Kenyan Jets Kill 2, Wound 3 Civilians in South Somalia

Bardere — At least two innocent civilians were killed and three others injured late on Friday in an aerial attack by Kenyan fighter jets in Gedo region of southern Somalia, residents said.

New reports say the Kenyan jets bombed on Takarre village, 55 Km away west of Baredere district of Gedo region, under the control of Al-Shabab militants, killing more than two people, including woman and children.

Witnesses told Shabelle Media Media that the injured people were rushed to a hospital in the town of Bardere where one of the victimized died later from his injury sustained in the Kenyan air raids.

The Traditional elders of Gedo region have immediately condemned in their strongest terms the Kenyan air strikes hit civilian residential areas in the region stating as 'civilian genocide'.

Kenyan military officials in the region have not commented about the attack so far.

Air strikes targeting frequently areas controlled by the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab in southern Somalia regions became common, causing uncountable civilian casualties.

from allAfrica

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U.S. drones bomb al-Qaida posts in southern Yemen, 3 militants killed

ADEN/SANAA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. drones bombed an army base seized by al-Qaida militants in Yemen's southern province of Abyan as well as several hideouts of the terrorist group on Sunday night, killing three militants, witnesses and senior army officers told Xinhua

Three al-Qaida militants were confirmed killed in the air raid, an al-Qaida spokesman told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"At least five missiles hit the posts of the terrorist group stationing at Khanfar Mountain in al-Qaida-held city of Jaar this night," a witness told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

"Thick white smoke is rising from the targeted area, and al- Qaida militants are moving to the mountain to check if there are any casualties," said the witness.

After destroying several ammunition stores seized by al-Qaida militants during battles with the army forces, various hideouts and fortifications of the terrorist group in the mountainous area in Jaar city, Abyan's second largest city, were pounded, with no immediate reports of casualties amongst the insurgents, a local army officer said on condition of anonymity.

"The U.S. drones fired missiles targeting the army outpost, which was overran by the extremists last Sunday. All the heavy weapons inside the base were completely damaged," the officer said.

"Huge explosions rocked the al-Qaida arms caches following the air bombing," he added.

However, the al-Qaida spokesman denied any explosion in their weapon stores.

A source close to the militants said they spotted a U.S. drone and two F-16 warplanes when they fired the missiles. He also said that they watched a U.S. warship faraway in the Gulf of Aden and they believed the jet fighters took off from it.

"We are afraid that the shelling could target the place near the Khanfar Mountain where we kept captive 73 soldiers who were captured last week in battles with the Yemeni government troops," said the source, who talked to Xinhua by phone from the coastal city of Jaar, which was seized by the militants in March 2011.

Meanwhile, a security officer in the southern port city of Aden said that "Yemeni armed forces in nearby coastal town of Dovas, off the Gulf of Aden, are attacking targets of al-Qaida after the terrorist group fired a Katyusha rocket on a camp of the troops."

Earlier in the day, the Yemeni army forces in the southern restive province of Lahj captured five Somali militants suspected of belonging to a Somali-based al-Qaida wing known as al-Shabaab.

The Yemeni Interior Ministry said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday that it had information that 300 armed Somalis had been sent by al-Shabaab insurgents in the Somali capital of Mogadishu to fight alongside the al-Qaida group in Yemen.

More than 48 terrorists were killed during the past few days in U.S. drone attacks and Yemen air force's raids against their strongholds in al-Bayda and Abyan provinces, according to government officials.

However, al-Qaida said in a statement obtained by Xinhua that only 17 of its fighters were killed in al-Bayda and no one was injured. It also said that it lost nobody in the air raid in Abyan two days ago.

The Yemeni army and security forces have recently been attacked by the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). After fierce battles last week in the flashpoint province of Abyan, nearly 200 soldiers were killed and 73 others were held captive by the militants.

The AQAP, entrenching itself mainly in Yemen's southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, is on the terrorist list of the United States, which considers it as an increasing threat to its national security.

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Somalia, AU Troops Attack al-Shabab Bases in Mogadishu

Somali forces backed by African Union troops have begun an operation against al-Shabab rebels in northern Mogadishu, as the U.N.-supported coalition aims to continue recent advances against the al-Qaida-linked insurgent group.

The African Union Mission in Somalia said the operation launched early Friday is meant to clear al-Shabab fighters from the northern fringes of the Somali capital, from where the militants have been able to stage several recent attacks.

The move comes two weeks after AMISOM troops delivered a major defeat to al-Shabab, forcing the fighters out of Baidoa, the country's third largest city, which was considered an important rebel stronghold.

Al-Shabab still controls much of southern and central Somalia, but has been steadily losing ground to offensives by Ethiopian, Kenyan and African Union troops.

The group was driven out of Mogadishu by government and African Union forces last year but has continued to carry out sporadic, guerilla-style attacks in the city.

Al-Shabab is fighting Somalia's weak transitional government in an attempt to impose its strict version of Islamic law on the country.

Last month, al-Qaida announced a formal alliance with al-Shabab, though the groups are thought to have had informal ties for several years.

from VOA

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Somalia al-Shabab militant base of Baidoa captured

Ethiopian and Somali troops have taken a strategic stronghold of Islamist militants in south-western Somalia.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC that about 50 vehicles, including some 20 tanks, had entered Baidoa, which was not defended.

After the southern port of Kismayo, the town was the most important al-Shabab base.

The news comes as the UN Security Council voted to increase the African Union force in Somalia from 12,000 to 17,731.

These developments come ahead of a major conference to be hosted by the UK on Thursday aimed at ending two decades of conflict in the troubled country.

Al-Shabab, which has recently joined al-Qaeda, confirmed that it had withdrawn its forces from Baidoa as part of a "tactical retreat" and threatened to start a guerrilla war in response.

"The takeover does not mean that the enemy will enjoy the city, there will be more bloodshed," said Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim, an al-Shabab commander, according to the AFP news agency.

A Somali government military commander in the town said his forces were moving to the outer edges of the town to ensure they had full control of it.

"We have taken control of Baidoa without a single shot, it is a great day for the people who are now welcoming us warmly," Muhidin Ali said, according to AFP.

Read more at BBC News

Related articles

• Ethiopian tanks advance on key Somali town (alternet.org)
• Somalia militants lose key town (bbc.co.uk)
• Kenya Blames Somali Militants for Food Crisis (time.com)

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Car bomb in Mogadishu police compound wounds 2

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A car bomb exploded inside a police compound in Somalia's capital on Friday, wounding two people, an official said.


Smoke was billowing into the sky after a car bomb went off inside the compound of the building housing a police unit against crime, witnesses told Xinhua.

The blast rattled Mogadishu, but Lt. Aden Kalmoy Dhaqane, a military official, said the explosion wounded only two people.

Police officer Dahir Mohammed said authorities had arrested two suspected suicide car bombers earlier Friday and had taken their car into the headquarters of the criminal investigations department, where it exploded. Mohammed said officials suspect it was detonated by a remote trigger.

Al-Shabaab linked to Al-Qaida has escalated attacks in the war- torn capital recently, although under mounting pressure from the government forces, the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission, the Kenyan military operation in the south of the Horn of Africa country and the anti-terror action by Ethiopia.

Al-Shabaab was driven out of Mogadishu in August 2011 by the government and AU peacekeeping forces. The latest attack came after Al-Qaida announced the merger with Al-Shabab a few days ago. 

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