Somalia: Kismayu Falls to AU Forces

By Staff Writer

 

KISMAYU--Kenyan troops under the African Union (AU) force flagship and the Somali government troops have captured Somalia’s southern port city of Kismayu held by the Islamic al-Shabab militant fighters, the Kenya army has said. The port city is the last major bastion held by the militant
fighters, that has been its major source of revenues and supplies from the lucrative charcoal exports.

The Kenyan troops who recently were integrated into the 17,000-strong African Union (AU) force launched hunt for the al-Shabab into Somali soil last October following a string of kidnappings inside its territory blamed on the group. Kenyan military spokesman Col Cyrus Oguna told

reporters on Friday that parts of Kismayu had been captured in a joint operation by the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) alongside the Somali National Army (SNA) that had begun late Thursday.

“A report that Kismayu fell today to KDF and TFG (Somali government troops) forces is indeed very true,” Col Oguna told Kenya’s Citizen television. He said that the joint forces had entered Kismayu by early Friday seizing parts of the city under “minimal resistance”, and the rest are expected to fall soon.

There are some parts that still will be under the control of al-Shabab because we only got there a couple of hours ago, and Kismayu is a big city," he told the BBC.

Residents in the city reported heavy fighting about 4km outside the city, who had reported sighting four military ships approach from the north, landed and captured territory around the university.

There has been numerous reports of US special  forces operating with the AU troops, but the US Africa command denied the claims on Friday, saying they were “not participating in Kenya’s military activities in the region.”

Col Oguna said no casualty figures could be provided at the moment, since so far the damage has not been assessed. Al-Shabab has reported fierce clashes were taking place, saying that its forces were still in control of the city.

"The enemy using military boats has deployed hundreds of soldiers in the coast late last night and the mujahideen fighters are engaging heavy fighting now with them. God willing they will be defeated", al-Shabab commander in Kismayu Sheik Mohamed Abu-Fatuma told AFP news agency.

A statement by the AU mission in Somalia, Amisom, said that the mission had successfully inserted

troops to liberate the people of Kismayu to enable them lead their lives in peace, stability and
security. On Tuesday Kenyan warship planes conducted airstrikes at an airport in the city targeting an armoury used by the al-Shabab.

The fall of Kismayu into the helm of the joint troops will deal a major blow to the al-Qaeda linked militia that has recently faced major exit of its fighters who have since joined the government forces
following swelling attacks.

Having lost control of Mogadishu to the AU-backed government troops, the al-Shabab which still

controls large swathes of territories in central and southern Somalia has since resorted to suicide bomb and grenade attacks along roadsides and other popular meeting places in the capital.