KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Somalia government soldiers clashed with members of Al Shabaab militant group and engaged in a fierce fight that lasted for several hours.
On Wednesday 26th August 2015, fighting erupted after Al Shabaab militants launched an ambush on a military convoy in the southwestern region of Gedo.
Through Al Shabaab’s linked media, the militants claimed responsibility of the attack.
Al Shabaab is a Takfiri group that has been held accountable for much of the violence and chaos in Somalia since 2006.
The Somalia based jihadist group is an affiliate of Al Qaeda terrorist group which has been targeting key government and security figures in the country, trying to overthrow the government in the capital, Mogadishu.
SUMMARY
Al Shabaab terrorist group controls parts of the rural south, and its members launch regular attacks even in the heart of government areas and especially in the Somali’s capital, Mogadishu.
From mid July, Al Shabaab militant group has suffered huge blows from the government forces with the backing of AMISOM troops. The militant outfit has lost hundreds of its fighters as well as key areas which have been under their control.
Somali government soldiers, as well as forces from the African Union Mission to Somalia — AMISOM, have pushed the militants out of Mogadishu and other major cities in the country.
The UN force is mainly comprised of troops from Kenya, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Djibouti and Uganda.
