Push to take Kismayu ‘is on course’
Laban Walloga | Nation
A Kenya Army jeep at the Ishakani border point in Kiunga as it heads for the battlefront in Somalia on October 27, 2011. Kenyan troops killed nine Al-Shabaab fighters and injured several others during an ambush.
What you need to know:
- Kenyan forces on the outskirts of Burgabo, which they hope to use as a launch pad
Kenyan forces were on Thursday preparing an onslaught on Burgabo, a town 120 kilometres from Kismayu, a bastion of the extremist group, Al-Shabaab.
The troops were said to be about seven kilometres outside Burgabo.
Conquering this town is a key objective of the Kenyan forces as it would serve as a launching pad for an onslaught on the port city of Kismayu, which is the hub of the terror group’s activities.
Kismayu is a smugglers’ haven and the revenues from it have funded terror groups and the warlords who have kept Somalia at war for 20 years.
Heightened activity
“Everything is on course and we plan to push farther ahead in our operation today,” a source within the military told the Daily Nation, on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to speak to journalists on the operation.
On Thursday, there was heightened activity around Ishakani on the Kenya-Somali border point which is another line of approach to Burgabo through Ras Kiamboni and Mnarani.
The soldiers, backed by the police, have intensified security along the border and the supply lines linking to the troops already inside Somalia.
The border is a virtual no-go zone with even the villagers living there have to be vetted before being allowed on the Kiunga-Ishakani road.
“This is a full military operation zone and no one is allowed to walk around. Everyone moving around this place must be cleared by security,” a soldier told the Nation at Kiunga.
Kismayu residents who spoke to the Nation on Thursday said they had seen dozens of Al-Shabaab fighters headed to Woravole between Burgabo and Ras Kiamboni in an attempt to block the Kenyan advance on Afmadow.
The militant group has also sent fighters to some Bajuni islands apparently to block an invasion by sea.
There are about six islands occupied by members of the Bajuni community.
“There are a few Al-Shabaab soldiers guarding the island but many fighters are in the water,” a Mdoa Island resident told Nation by phone on Thursday.
The Kenya Navy is said to be headed to the Bajuni islands.
