MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Somali forces have dislodged Al-Shabaab fighters from parts of Marka town in Lower Shabelle region, a military official confirmed Sunday.
Forces of Somali government backed by continental troops have intensified the fight against Al-Shabaab in Southern Somalia.
Abdullahi Ali Anod, the force commander of Somali National Army (SNA) who spoke to BBC Somali Service said Somali troops launched operations to annihilate Al-Shabaab from the region.
Mr. Anod boasted that Somali forces recaptured several suburbs of Marka town from Al-Shabaab fighters after fierce fighting between the sides.
“The better part of the day, we engaging Al-Shabaab fighters. The troop seized full control of Marka of Lower Shabelle,” he said.
The villages the troops recapture are Lusiya, Obasibi, and El-Haji which are part of Marka town.
In 2016, Al-Shabaab fighters siezed the town, which is situated 100 kilometers (60 miles)southwest of Mogadishu after troops from the Ugandan contingent of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) left.
Since then the group was controlling parts of the town which is one of the strategic ports in Southern Somalia
Marka is Somalia’s third-largest port after Mogadishu, 90km to the north, and Kismayo, which is more than 300km to the south.
In between Marka and Kismayo lies Barawe, the last major port which al Shabaab controlled before they were dislodged in October 2014.
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