Military forces of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region have retaken a strategic town from Islamic militant group al Shabaab, an officer said on Friday.
Captain Saiid Mohamed Diriye said his forces retook Af Urur without a fight. The town is important because the main road that links the cities of Garowe, Bosaso and the Somali capital Mogadishu pass nearby.
“The militants fled into the hills and we are pursuing them,” Diriye told Reuters from Af Urur.
Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab fighters had captured the town – which they and Puntland forces have fought over several times – last month, he said.
Al Shabaab wants to expel the African Union-mandated peacekeeping force AMISOM from Somalia, topple its central government and establish an administration based on its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
Attacks are relatively rare in Puntland, which has its own government and security forces patrolling its territory on the northeastern tip of the Horn of Africa, jutting out into the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
“It is important to note that the previous Zamfara State Government floated a N20 billion…
Security agencies are yet to also comment on the matter as of now.
The national grid has collapsed twice this year, plunging millions of Nigerians into darkness. It…
It also said that penalties for the offences committed by the students included rustication for…
Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar, staffed by citizens from China and other countries who…
While addressing a news conference in Abuja on Monday, Nsien says with his qualifications and…