AU forces in Somalia resume operations against Al- Shabaab
October 31, 2013 (NAIROBI) – The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Thursday said it had resumed operations against the Somali militant group, Al- Shabaab.
AMISOM said the operation led by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) will target Al- Shabaab training camps and its senior commanders in Middle Juba, Lower Shabelle and Bay region.
‘‘Targeting these remaining Al Shabaab locations will complement the operations already being conducted by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and other allied forces as well as deny Al Shabaab freedom of movement,’’ said AMISOM in a statement posted on its website on Thursday.
The announcement by AMISOM appears to suggest an intensification of attacks on the Al-Shabaab after the group claimed the September strike on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya killing 67 people.
On Monday a US drone strike two senior members of the group, Somalia and US officials said.
In October, US Special Forces raided a sea side house in the southern Somalia port of Barawe but failed to capture or kill, Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, also known as Ikrima, a senior al-Shabaab commander who is reported to have been the target of the raid.
AU troops forced the Al- Shabaab out of the port city of Kismayo in 2011 and in 2012 kicked the group out of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
(ST)