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Govt. forces seize strategic city in south Somalia

The Somali government forces backed by Kenyan troops have taken full control of a strategic city in southern Somalia after al-Shabab fighters vacated the area without any resistance, Press TV reports.

Somali elders told Press TV on Thursday that hundreds of al-Shabab fighters have fled Bardera city in the southern Gedo region of Somalia after they were informed that government forces along with Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a militiamen and Kenyan troops were going to launch a major offensive to seize the territory.

“Local residents have given accounts that a host of Somali troops backed by government-allied Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a fighters and Kenyan soldiers are marching into the city,” Sheikh Musa Khalif, a Somali elder in Bardera city, said.

“We can confirm that al-Shabab militants have vacated the city. We urge all belligerent parties not to exchange fire in residential areas as it would result in many civilian deaths,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abdullahi Aden, a Bardera residelent, said that he saw vehicles with fighters and officials of al-Shabab departing from the city, and heading toward nearby villages.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

The weak Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab fighters for the past five years and is propped up by a 12,000-strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/231863.html