Residents say that heavily armed contingents of AU troops established a new base at the building that housed the Somali commercial bank in the Shanganni district east of the capital.

“Today AMISOM forces have arrived here and we dont know where they are going” said Roble Ahmed Yusuf, a resident in the shanganni district who was reached for comment by APA.

The arrival of AU peackeepers in the area comes a day after when Somali government forcibly removed IDPs from the building where they have been staying since they fled from their homes in the volatile northeastern parts of the capital.

Secretary General for Somali government regional administration in the capital Abdi Kafi Hilwole Osman confirmed the arrival of AU peacekeepers at the former Somali commercial bank, one of the tallest buildings in Mogadishu.

A Presidential aide who demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media told APA that the AU peace keepers will be advancing to rebel-controlled positions in north and northeast of the capital.

“They will also make up a base at the Global Hotel near the Banadir football facility where the militants are currently based and that is kind of the preparations for a big war to oust militants from the capital,” he said.

The beautiful costal north eastern Lido village of the capital is home to hundreds of the foreign terrorists who are fighting a long side the Alqaeda-linked Al shabab militants.

Source: APA