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Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...The residents who spoke to Radio Shabelle on condition of anonymity said armed fighters in pickups mounted in machine guns took over Basra near Bal’ad without a battle.
The fall of Basra following the withdrawal of Somali National Army (SNA) forces and 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...
troops who had been in control of the area since last week.
The AU and SNA military commanders in the region did not comment on the sudden retreat of the allied troops, however, the move comes ahead of a major offensive against Al-Shabaab.