African, Somali Troops Target Last Shabaab Stronghold

African and Somali government troops on Monday made their final preparations to march on the port city of Barawe, the last stronghold of the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab, after capturing Kunturwaarey, a town only a few kilometers away.



"We entered Kunturwaarey without a single bullet being shot," Brig. Dick Olum, commander of the Uganda contingent serving in the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), said in a statement.



Olum added that Special Forces from Uganda were behind the successful capture of four towns that had seen Al-Shabaab lose considerable ground.



The Al-Shabaab-held towns of Buulo Mareer, Golweyne and Jerlio had all previously fallen to African and government forces.



But they have experienced fierce resistance before finally capturing Buulo Mareer late Saturday. 



"Al-Shabaab really resisted," Brig. Olum said. "They fought very hard for it. But I'm so sure they have all fled to Barawe."



Sources close to Al-Shabaab confirmed that militants were sent north to the frontline, a few kilometers south of Kunturwaarey, to create a buffer zone to secure their last remaining stronghold.



Last week, the militant group lost all the towns it controlled in the central region of Bakool in a one-week military offensive carried out by Ethiopia's A.U. contingent.



With Sierra Leone and Kenyan troops based at least 150km south of Barawe, and with the Ugandans now positioned north of Barawe, Al-Shabaab finds itself surrounded on all sides.



The port of Barawe is believed to be Al-Shabaab's main source of revenue, making millions of dollars from the illegal sale of charcoal to the Middle East.



It is also an entry point for weapons and serves as a base for the group's commanders, including leader Ahmed Godane Abu Zubeyr.



"Operation Indian Ocean," which the Somali government touts as the "final assault" on Al-Shabaab, was launched last week.



Nevertheless, the militant group has continued to carry out attacks in capital Mogadishu.



On Sunday, at least eight militants, three Somali soldiers and two civilians were killed in an attack at a prison operated by Somalia's intelligence agency.



The militants detonated several explosive-laden cars before trying to break into the prison amid heavy fighting with guards.



In a statement Monday, Somali President Mohamud Sheikh Hassan described the attack as a desperate attempt by the group to free imprisoned colleagues.



"Al-Shabaab knows the conventional fight over territory is nearly over for them, so it seeks instead to distract from its losses of men and ground by trying to grab media headlines through attention-seeking but consistently unsuccessful attacks such as this one," Hassan asserted.



Somalia, a long-troubled country in the Horn of Africa, has remained in the grip of on-again, off-again violence since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.



By Yassin Juma



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Banaadir