(Sh. M. Network)--Officials in Somali government says the national army allied with the African Union...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
forces seized several strategic positions that had been under the control of the Al-Shabaab
... the successor to the Islamic Courts...
for the past three years.
Mohamed Farah, the front man of Somali forces in Jubba regions, told Shabelle Media by phone that the allied forces took full control of the last Al shabab pockets located on the outskirts of west of the port town of Kismayo during armed confrontations over the last two days.
"We attacked Al shabab fighters on Sunday in the strongholds and killed at least 4 combatants during the combat near Kismayo city, he said.
Tensions are reportedly high in the battled areas as pro-government forces show determination to move closer to Kismayo, the final Al-Shabaab stronghold major town, 500 Km south ofSomalia's capitalMogadishu.
Al-Shabaab has neither released statements on the military advances nor said a word about the seizure of these new areas beyond Bibi and Birta Dheer.