Somali militants vow revenge after fall of bastion
Photo|AFP|FILE
Soldiers walk near the outskirts of the town of Afgoye, located to the west of the country’s capital Mogadishu.
MOGADISHU, Saturday
Al-Qaeda-linked Somali militants have vowed to intensify the war against government and African Union troops, despite the fall of their key stronghold of Afgoye.
“God willing we will continue the war and we will win the battle without doubt,” said Sheik Abdiaziz Abu Musab, spokesman for the hardline Al Shabaab, a day after AU and Somali troops entered Afgoye.
The bulk of Al Shabaab fighters left ahead of an advancing column of hundreds of AU and Somali government troops, who launched a long-awaited assault on the town, some 30 kilometres northwest of the capital Mogadishu.
The loss of Afgoye is another major blow for the insurgents who have been on the backfoot for several months.
More than 400,000 people were living in the Afgoye region at the start of the year — the world’s largest concentration of displaced people — according to the United Nations.
On a separate front, Somali troops were reported to be pushing northwards towards Al Shabaab-held town of Balad, which lies some 35 kilometres north of Mogadishu.
