Key town captured by Islamist Somali militants
Monday, May 18, 2009
- 10 February 2012: Wikinews Shorts: February 10, 2012
- 19 October 2011: Kenya troops enter Somalia after kidnappings
- 15 July 2011: Drought stricken Somalia nears famine
- 11 June 2011: Somali interior minister killed by bomb attack in own home
- 24 February 2011: Pirates kill four American hostages
Eyewitness reports say that Islamist insurgents in Somalia have captured the town of Jowhar, a strategically important city 90 kilometres north of the country's capital of Mogadishu.
According to the witness reports the Al-Shabaab rebels took the town after two hours of fighting on Sunday. After overtaking the city, the militants released prisoners from the city jail. At least three civilians were killed by the violence. A resident told Reuters that seven people died in the fighting.
The United Nations Security Council has expressed "concern at the loss of life and the worsening humanitarian situation arising out of the renewed fighting".
Meanwhile, in Mogadishu, fighting between government forces and Al-Shabaab has left at least 68 people dead in the past two days.
The Somali government has started to lose ground against Al-Shabaab in the past few weeks. Currently, it does not control much area outside of the capital which is reinforced by African Union troops.
[edit] Sources
- "Somali militants capture key town" — BBC News Online, May 17, 2009
- "Somali fighters capture key town" — Al Jazeera, May 17, 2009
