Al-Shabab Renews Offensive In Southern Somalia

Al-Shabab fighters are very much in evidence in Somalia. Despite claims by the US-backed regime in Mogadishu and Kismayo, the Islamic resistance is still struggling., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Al-Shabaab renews offensive in southern Somalia

Hooded militants loyal to Al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist group, seized the town of Hudur, the capital of Bakol region, 420 km southwest of Mogadishu.

The militants entered the town late on Sunday when Ethiopian troops and accompanying Somali forces had abandoned the town earlier in the day.

Talking to the media on Monday, residents who disguised the identities for security reasons reported that the Ethiopians loaded their gears and weaponry on a number of trucks before heading westwards.

“By ten o’clock (on Sunday) there was no a single Ethiopian soldier in the town,” said a resident.

Indeed, heavily armed Ethiopian troops supporting Somali government forces captured Hudur town on 22nd of March 2012. The development denied the fanatical militants the control of another regional capital after the fall of Baidoa town, 240 km south of Mogadishu, the capital of Bay region, a month earlier.

On Monday, the local people in Hudur town confirmed that many people fled the town in anticipation of repeated hostilities and revenge attacks by Al-Shabaab militants.

So far, the Somali government made no statement on the abandonment of the Ethiopians and its forces of Hudur town.

Other reports on Monday confirmed that Al-Shabaab fighters overwhelmed Somali government forces in Awdinle district, 30 km west of Baidoa, seizing the place after two days of bitter confrontations.

Fleeing government soldiers reportedly reached Baidoa on Monday morning.

Somali government forces had seized Awdinle from Al-Shabaab just three days earlier.

Meanwhile, Abdinasir Mohamed Ali Nuhurkey, a journalist working with Mustaqbal Radio, an independent broadcaster in the Somalia capital Mogadishu died as a result of a suicide blast on Monday.

Abdurashid Nur Ibrahim, another reporter with Mustaqbal Radio was badly wounded by the explosion in downtown Mogadishu that killed up to 10 people.

Dr Mohamed Yusuf, the Director of Madina Hospital, the largest referral facility of war casualties in Mogadishu, stated on Monday that four dead bodies and seventeen injured persons were admitted.

Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Raghe alias Sheikh Ali Dhere, the Chief Spokesman of Al-Shabaab, stated on Monday that his fundamentalist movement carried out the attack in Hudur town and the suicide mission at Ex-Fiore Area in downtown Mogadishu.

“A member of al-Istishaad (suicide) Brigade targeted a security service officer,” said Sheikh Ali Dhere. He claimed killing government officers without referring to the large number of civilian casualties including passengers in two public transport buses.

Indeed, General Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, the Chief of the National Security Agency (SNA), said in Mogadishu, “It was obvious that the anti-peace elements (a reference to Al-Shabaab fighters) targeted General Khalif Ahmed Ereg (the Commander of SNA in the city).”

He added that one security officer was killed by the blast, confirming that innocent civilians were badly affected.

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