Somalia: Al Shabaab fighters captured in Gun Battle, New areas liberated
GARBAHAAREY/AfMADOW, Somalia Jan 29, 2015 (Garowe Online)-Somali government forces captured undisclosed number of Al Shabaab militants in a gun battle on the outskirts of Gedo regional capital of Garbahaarey as new areas in Lower Juba fell to allied forces, Garowe Online reports.
On Thursday, Somali National Army (SNA) commander Col. Abdullahi Mohamed Abshir told the media that army troops are holding fighters from the militant group and will put them on display in the coming days.
In December, top Al Shabaab commander handed himself in to the government in Gedo region.
Meanwhile, allied forces dislodged Al Shabaab militiamen from Janay Abdalle which lies 80km from Afmadow and nearby Farwaamo.
Earlier in October, Jubaland President Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) vowed to liberate areas acquiesced to the austere rule of Islamist insurgents.
Al Shabaab controls trivial swathes of territories-mainly rural areas, and began to migrate northwards towards Puntland’s rugged terrain of Galgala.
GAROWE ONLINE