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Subscribe to RSSMOGADISHU, Somalia -- Troops launched an amphibious assault before dawn Friday on the al-Qaida militant group al-Shabab's last stronghold in Somalia.
Other African Union forces were traveling overland to link up with the joint Kenyan-Somali force in the port city of Kismayo.
The commander of the U.N-backed African Union troops, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, said the aim was to "liberate the people of Kismayo to enable them to lead their lives in peace, stability and security."
Col. Cyrus Oguna, the Kenyan military's top spokesman, said the attack met minimal resistance, but al-Shabab denied that the city had fallen and said fighting was taking place.
Oguna told The Associated Press that al-Shabab, which formally merged with al-Qaida in February, had incurred "heavy losses" but that Kenyan forces have not yet had any injuries or deaths.
"We came from the beach side and we're moving towards the main city. Our surveillance aircraft are monitoring every event taking place on the ground," he told Reuters.
"For now, we're not everywhere. We've taken a large part of it without resistance, I don't see anything major happening," he said.
Born in the USA, but now among Somalia's Islamist terrorists
Residents in Kismayo, a city of about 193,000 people, contacted by The Associated Press said that Kenyan troops had taken control of the port, but not the whole city.
"Al-Shabab fighters are on the streets and heading toward the front line in speeding cars. Their radio is still on the air and reporting the war," resident Mohamed Haji told The Associated Press. Haji said that helicopters were hitting targets in the town in southeastern Somalia.
At an international one-day summit Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said the world would "pay a price" if it fails to help Somalia overcome terrorism, piracy and starvation. ITV's Lee Comley reports.
Another resident, Ismail Suglow, told Reuters that he could hear shelling from the ships and that the rebels were responding with anti-aircraft guns.
"We saw seven ships early in the morning and now their firing looks like lightning and thunder. Al-Shabab have gone towards the beach. The ships poured many AU troops on the beach," he added.
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On Thursday, residents said planes had dropped leaflets on Kismayo warning civilians to evacuate within 24 hours, Reuters reported. More than 10,000 residents fled Kismayo in the last several weeks.
Resident Faduma Abdulle said Friday that she is now leaving too.
She said al-Shabab made an announcement on its radio station Friday to trick residents into moving toward the invading troops.
"They told residents through their radio to loot a Kenyan ship that washed up on the coast, but instead the residents who rushed there were attacked by helicopters," she said. "Some of them have died but I don't know how many. The situation is tense and many are fleeing. It's a dangerous situation."
A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Cdr. Dave Hecht, said the U.S. Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, is closely monitoring the situation but that "we are not participating in Kenya's military activities in the region."
Militants: Taking city not 'a piece of cake'
Al-Shabab said it would not give up Kismayu easily.
"Going into Kismayo is not a piece of cake. We are still fighting them on the beach where they landed," Sheik Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab's spokesman for military operations, told Reuters on Friday. "For us, this is just the beginning, our troops are spread everywhere."
Oguna said the assault is part of a four-prong attack involving Kenyan forces currently in villages outside Kismayo.
The amphibious assault landed between 10:30 p.m. Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday local time (3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday ET) , he said. Some of the troops had night-vision goggles, he said.
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African Union troops pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in August 2011, ending four years of control of the capital by the fighters.
The Ugandan and Burundian troops that make up the bulk of the African Union force in Mogadishu have slowly been taking control of towns outside of Mogadishu.
The expanding control by AU troops sent al-Shabab fighters fleeing south toward Kismayo, north to other regions of Somalia and across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, according to American and African Union officials.
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Al-Shabab still holds sway across many small, poor villages of southern Somalia. The loss of Kismayo would be significant.
The militants taxed goods coming into its port. Al-Shabab lost its major source of financing last year when it was pushed out of Bakara market in Mogadishu, where it also charged taxes.
The march toward Kismayo by the Kenyan forces has been nearly a year in the making.
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Kenyan troops entered Somalia last October after a string of kidnappings inside neighboring Kenya, including of Westerners in and around the beach resort town of Lamu, which is also seeing the construction of a new port and could one day be final point of a new oil pipeline from South Sudan.
Kenyan forces were bogged down by rain and poor roads for months but have making slow and steady progress toward Kismayo in recent weeks.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
would love to see the AU eradicate extremists in their region. maybe they can prove to the rest of the world that ya don't need US troops to take back your country.
before you all join the 'crap on my comment train' i understand we are advising. but that's much different than fighting. i just hope we can keep it that way. and that we help our allies become peace builders in the aftermath.
Lessons?
Al-Shabab and Al-Qaida are giving everyone named Al a bad name.
Greed kills.
You don't have to wear a mask to be a goon.
"They told residents through their radio to loot a Kenyan ship that washed up on the coast, but instead the residents who rushed there were attacked by helicopters," she said. "Some of them have died but I don't know how many. The situation is tense and many are fleeing. It's a dangerous situation."
People went to loot a ship..and were attacked. Good! Until Africa takes it on themselves to clean up Africa...it will not get done.
African nations,''taking it to'' al-shabab and al-Qaida. kick some ass!!
Just like Muslim terrorists to try and send innocent people into battle ahead of themselves. Cowards. Hopefully they can finally be removed from Somalia permanently and those people can go back to scratching out a living from a country with few resources.
Kill them all. Take no prisoners.
Wish I could be there fighting with you.
Ive had it with these radical muslim pieces of Sh*t
Mikeb...you can just go down and join up...:0)
Mike,
I found rates starting as low as $1357.00 on a fast Google search. Hope this helps :)
Seriously though I'm sick and tired of radicals also. I just prefer to get rid of anyone that abuses and harms others in the name of any higher power (God, Allah, Shiva, Isis, Barney, Thor, Pokemon....whatever just pick one)
Interesting ! I'm certainly no fan of Al-Qaeda and more than happy to see them removed from anyplace. When reading the article carefully I find the last few paragraphs most interesting of all. The reference to a new pipeline for oil , give that some thought posters !
While I am happy for the Union soldiers and the innocents who will no longer be tormented by Al Qaeda ......I have to say the D-DAY reference is quite insulting. This operation I'm sure was not of that scale ....I am also sure that the sacrifice was not as great.....but hey ...whatever headline grabs peoples attention ....right?
D-Day and H-Hour are generic terms for the start of operations. It's only because of the massive effort of 6 June 1944 that THAT operation is called D-Day in the public's mind instead of it's real name: Operation Neptune..
Good for the people of Africa and lets not forget, if needed, helping someone willing to help themselves is how it should be.
>
Question,,, how does a 3 world army accomplish what the united states could not? answer: maybe too much red tape? too much paper tiger? oh that's it, no oil....
actually, there is a great concern for future oil transmission in this region. You nailed it with the red tape. When the US military goes into battle, they are forced to fight "not to lose" rather than "to win". I imagine these AU folks will be giving it to them in ways that would get our troops locked up. Unfortunately, only our enemies understand that there are no rules when it comes to love and WAR.
Maybe because we had no business doing it. Maybe because they should fight for their own freedom first. And maybe, just maybe, they are getting above the "third world" status so cleverly and convincingly established by the "modern" nations.
Ah, the tired old wipping boy, "oil". Unclebux, can you point to a single war where the US got oil from? ...Because I can't think of any.
We didn't get oil from Iraq after either Gulf War. We certainly didn't get any from Europe for Jugoslavia. Haiti? Nope. Grenada? Nope. Panama? Nope. Somalia? Nope. Columbia? Nope. Afghanistan? Nope...
I could see if we intervened in Venezuela or Saudi Arabia or Iran and then pulled up tankers to haul crude away. THEN you'd have something. Economically, our biggest import from Iraq since "mission accomplished"? POMEGRANATES.
The US got 3% of it's July 2012 oil imports from Iraq.
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_m.htm
Nice...people policing thier own countries. Good job!
Africans killing Africans... good job guys. Keep going until they're all gone.
you're not helping
@MB - Not much worse than a racist troll...........Jack*ss
T Diddy - Amen
I vote we take up a collection to send MB to the front lines.
Allahu akbar!!!
Is there going to be a follow up article about the Kenyans leaving the Port of Kismayo? Will the Somalis actually profit from this endeavor or will it be a new commercial hub for the Kenyans? Are the Ugandans happy about the Kenyans seizing Kismayo? Will the Ugandans get the spoils from Mogadishu instead? Hoorah for Uganda and Kenya!
What a bunch of know nothing twits...You should be focused on the fact that the Kenyans are pulling off one of the hardest military maneuvers possible, an over-water assault, and it sounds like they pulled it off pretty well. If this works and the Kenyans can develop real first class military skills, then we won't be needed as much. This is good news you morons. By the way...it isn't Obama's fault and it isn't Bush's fault...it's a dandy little operation pulled off by the Kenyans. OutGoddamnstanding job.
You are exactly right. I guess there are just some who still think they are cowboys.
Once these guys finish up in Somalia send them to Detroit and Chicago.
UDunnoBro,
You don't know.
I am not going to comment on this issue.
Despite some calls to "send in the SEALS and our sons and daughters", it is becoming apparent that the United States doesn't need to be the world's police force anymore. Civilians in Libya and Syria and legitimate military organizations in Somalia are showing that they are quite capable of defending their own freedom. The strength of democratically ensured freedom will do just fine, we just needed to supply these downtrodden people with the fortitude and wherewithal to demand their own freedom from fear and oppression.
+1 for the Good Guys! Good to know!
Great job Kenyans!
Somalia has been without government for 2 decades now. Each town has been ruled by the local strongman, often fighting with each other. When al-Shabab started taking over the country, they were often welcomed as they brought some sort of an order.
Then you started reading about them killing people for watching soccer or listening music and generally getting closer to al-Qaida and getting more radical. At some point the US stepped in with drone strikes etc. Then Ethiopia and Kenya intervened and now al-Shabab is getting pounded.
The problem remains. Without a government, the country will remain chaotic and a safe heaven for terrorists.
Whatever became of"peaceful negotiating?
This WAR behavior, is getting VERY "old" and
points to the fact that MEN are not happy, unless
they are FIGHTING, and establishing their "territories.
How sad, that in this Century, we are still behaving like
Cave dwellers. Actually, DISGUSTING.
Try to sit down with a radical Islamic warlord/gang leader with his own army, and living the life of a small time king.
Tell him he has to give up his power. Not so easy bub.
He'll have your head cut off, and finish his dinner with your head on the table having a mock conversation with you.
I have always said that too.
Imagine two men, and two women on the entire Earth living on opposite sides of a river. One hunts, the other plants a crop. Eventually, one will sneak across the river and steal what the other has worked hard for, and probably do his woman too. If that doesn't happen, their kids will eventually get in a fight.
Peace is always so near, yet always so far away.
glad africains are fighting for their freedom from those islamic tirands.