11 civilians killed in fight for southern Somali town

Friday, March 07, 2014

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MOGADISHU – Confrontations between government forces and African peacekeepers on one hand and Al-Shabaab militants on the other in the southern Somali town of Rab Dhuure left 11 civilians dead and a number of others injured on Wednesday, eyewitnesses said Thursday.

"There were fierce confrontations in which all types of light and heavy weapons were used, which led to this death toll," eyewitnesses said.

They could not, however, specify the number of injuries.

They said some civilians had managed to escape to neighboring villages amid intense confrontations between government forces and African peacekeepers and Al-Shabaab, which seeks to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.

The government, for its part, has yet to confirm the eyewitness accounts.

On Wednesday, government forces and African peacekeepers managed to recapture the southern town of Rab Dhuure from Al-Shabaab.

Abdel-Nour Mohamed, deputy governor of the Bakool region, confirmed the recapture of the town.

"This is a major military victory," he told AA.

Al-Shabaab, however, continues to control several towns in the central Shebelle Region, amid repeated government announcements of an impending military campaign to flush the group out of the south-central region.

Somalia has remained in the grip of on-again, off-again political violence since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.

The country appeared to have stabilized recently with the installation of a new government and the intervention of African Union troops tasked with combatting Al-Shabaab.

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