African forces backing Somali government troops said they took control of one of the Islamist rebellion's last strongholds Friday, sparking intense clashes on the outskirts of Mogadishu. "Troops from the Somali army backed by troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia on Friday morning seized the district of Deynile and routed the al Qaeda-affiliated Shebab terrorists," AMISOM spokesman Paddy Ankunda said in a statement.
Four AMISOM soldiers were wounded in the offensive, led by Burundian troops in the force, on the sprawling Deynile neighbourhood north-west of central Mogadishu which had been a Shebab safe haven for years. AMISOM is a well-equipped force of more than 10,000 soldiers from Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti.
Deynile commands access to the Afgoye corridor, an area some 30 kilometres (20 miles) north-west of Mogadishu which is controlled by the Shebab and is home to the world's largest concentration of internally displaced people. "An important security operation was launched this morning around Deynile and the Afgoye corridor and we have cut off the road to Afgoye," Mohamed Osman Hanaf, a commander in the government forces, told journalists.
"Heavy clashes broke out when Shebab attacked our troops in Deynile," said Hanaf, who said the al Qaeda-linked group had been defeated but did not provide any casualty toll. No Shebab official was immediately available for comment. "Our forces and AMISOM advanced and took control of most of Deynile, including the airstrip," Abdulahi Muhidin, another Somali officer, said.
"The Burundians and the Ugandans advanced with tanks towards Deynile and heavy clashes erupted," witness Ise Abdulahi said. He said most civilians had deserted the neighbourhood before the clashes. Over the past few weeks, thousands of civilians have streamed out of Deynile ahead of an expected offensive by AMISOM and Somali forces who have tightened their grip on Mogadishu since August. "All movement of civilians in the Afgoye corridor has been blocked and AMISOM is carrying out military manoeuvres there," a local resident, Jumale Ahmed, told.
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