Somali security forces and allied groups have captured a strategic town held by Al-Shabaab terrorists since 2016. in Central Somalia, according to a statement by officials and the African Union.
The government, African Union forces and tribal militias said they had killed about 700 of their members. of Young and restored scores of settlements as part of for months campaign to disengage the base group control over large spaces of Country.
The army and local clan militias known as the “Makwesley” have recaptured large areas of province in Central states of Galmudug and Hirshabelle in recent months in Operation supported by the United States air Strikes and the African Union forceATMIS.
Mahmoud Hassan Mahmoud, the mayor of Eden Yabal in Middle Shabelle regionHe said that the army and militias took control of The city and the surrounding area of Same name without encountering resistance on Monday.
“this area of Eden Yabal was very important for Youth because it is the heart that connects the central and southern regions of Somalia. she was also they main “The base from which they run the central regions,” Mahmoud told Reuters late on Monday.
He added that the forces were overrunning the town, which is about 240 km to the northeast of capital mogadishu, for Mines.
President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud said residents had been taken away by al-Shabaab fighters of The city as a person shields And the destroyed Infrastructure.
“that they took with They have pumps of Wells and some residents (humans). shields for afraid of being bombed” in Televised address after borough capture.
Al Shabaab spokesmen could not be immediately reached comment on the cities capture And accusations of Contract population as human shields.
The head of the African Union mission in Somali Mohamed El-Amin Soueif described the town as a training ground for Young people, they said broader campaign He delivered “devastating and decisive” blows. against The group.
Youth often abandon areas before army attacks, however government It often fails to capture recaptured territory, analysts say, allowing militants to return.
“When they entered the town, the young men were not there,” Moody preached, a shop Her in Aden Yabal told Reuters by phone. “Most of The people They fled because they were afraid fighting would break out out. “
Colonel Muhammad Ali one of Operation commanders told AFP that the terrorists fled when they learned of the approach of the army.
“We took the city without resistance, and so did the army in full control,” he said added.
Military sources said that the terrorists withdrew out on Monday evening.
ATMIS, which supported the operation with Helicopters, al-Shabaab said, used Aden Yabal as a training base.
Young who wage a bloody rebellion against Internationally supported Somali Federalism government for 15 years, also The city was used as a logistics hub.
forced out of The state main Urban centers about 10 years ago, the youth movement remains take hold in vast spaces of Central and southern rural areas of Somalia are still carrying out deadly attacks in Mogadishu.
On October 29, 116 people in killed in the capital in two car Bomb explosions in the Ministry of Education, killing eight civilians in 21-hour hotel siege on November 27th.
Amisum, former incarnation of the African Union force in Somalia, Aden Yabal was kidnapped by terrorists in 2016 before relinquishing control a few months later after the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces.
Somali security forces and allied groups have captured a strategic town held by Al-Shabaab terrorists since 2016. in Central Somalia, according to a statement by officials and the African Union.
The government, African Union forces and tribal militias said they had killed about 700 of their members. of Young and restored scores of settlements as part of for months campaign to disengage the base group control over large spaces of Country.
The army and local clan militias known as the “Makwesley” have recaptured large areas of province in Central states of Galmudug and Hirshabelle in recent months in Operation supported by the United States air Strikes and the African Union forceATMIS.
Mahmoud Hassan Mahmoud, the mayor of Eden Yabal in Middle Shabelle regionHe said that the army and militias took control of The city and the surrounding area of Same name without encountering resistance on Monday.
“this area of Eden Yabal was very important for Youth because it is the heart that connects the central and southern regions of Somalia. she was also they main “The base from which they run the central regions,” Mahmoud told Reuters late on Monday.
He added that the forces were overrunning the town, which is about 240 km to the northeast of capital mogadishu, for Mines.
President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud said residents had been taken away by al-Shabaab fighters of The city as a person shields And the destroyed Infrastructure.
“that they took with They have pumps of Wells and some residents (humans). shields for afraid of being bombed” in Televised address after borough capture.
Al Shabaab spokesmen could not be immediately reached comment on the cities capture And accusations of Contract population as human shields.
The head of the African Union mission in Somali Mohamed El-Amin Soueif described the town as a training ground for Young people, they said broader campaign He delivered “devastating and decisive” blows. against The group.
Youth often abandon areas before army attacks, however government It often fails to capture recaptured territory, analysts say, allowing militants to return.
“When they entered the town, the young men were not there,” Moody preached, a shop Her in Aden Yabal told Reuters by phone. “Most of The people They fled because they were afraid fighting would break out out. “
Colonel Muhammad Ali one of Operation commanders told AFP that the terrorists fled when they learned of the approach of the army.
“We took the city without resistance, and so did the army in full control,” he said added.
Military sources said that the terrorists withdrew out on Monday evening.
ATMIS, which supported the operation with Helicopters, al-Shabaab said, used Aden Yabal as a training base.
Young who wage a bloody rebellion against Internationally supported Somali Federalism government for 15 years, also The city was used as a logistics hub.
forced out of The state main Urban centers about 10 years ago, the youth movement remains take hold in vast spaces of Central and southern rural areas of Somalia are still carrying out deadly attacks in Mogadishu.
On October 29, 116 people in killed in the capital in two car Bomb explosions in the Ministry of Education, killing eight civilians in 21-hour hotel siege on November 27th.
Amisum, former incarnation of the African Union force in Somalia, Aden Yabal was kidnapped by terrorists in 2016 before relinquishing control a few months later after the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces.