Friday, October 12, 2012
More than 25 al-Shabab fighters have been killed and 30 others wounded in the latest firefight between government forces and the militants in southern Somalia, Press TV reports.
Army officer Captain Amin Adnan Yabarrow told Press TV that the deadly clashes broke out on the outskirts of Baidoa city.
The captain said the al-Shabab fighters were holed up in Goof Gaduud village.
Sources close to al-Shabab said on October 9 that the fighters are preparing to make a desperate last stand in the Mogadishu area.
The sources say the militants have nowhere to turn to after being forced to flee from many strategic towns and regions in Somalia and have decided to launch an attack on the troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in the Mogadishu area.
It appears that the al-Shabab fighters are ready to go out in a blaze of glory if necessary.
Tension is running high in Mogadishu as the residents brace themselves for what could be a very bloody onslaught.
In December 2006, al-Shabab broke away from the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and began attempting to topple the various configurations of the Transitional Federal Government that came and went.
In the process, al-Shabab militants fought against the Ethiopian forces that had invaded Somalia and also AMISOM and TFG troops.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
However, MPs meeting in Mogadishu elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new president of Somalia with a big majority on September 10.
The TFG has been battling al-Shabab fighters for almost six years and is propped up by a 10,000-strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.