Latest military reports from Somalia indicate that African Union and Somali government forces (SNA) managed to capture strategic town of Bariire, a key Al-Shabaab base in the country’s south.
According to AMISOM Force commander, the combatants fled following heavy artillery targeted on their enclave outside the town of Bariire. The joint troops raided the Islamists militant base from three different directions.
Bariire was one of Al-Shabaab’s strongholds in the south and only 45 kilometers (27 miles) from Mogadishu, Somali’s capital.
“The joint troops attacked the town from three directions, forced the militants to flee and secured its control,” Abdinasir Alim Ibrahim, a district commissioner in nearby Afgoye, told media channels in Somali. “Hopefully, the next target will be Toratorow, and then we will proceed to other towns and cities controlled by the terrorists.”
Bariire has been a key target for Somali and AU troops. Al-Shabaab terrorists have used the city as a military base from which to organize attacks they carry out in Mogadishu, and to run courts in which they impose strict Sharia, or Islamic law.
