Wanla Weyn, Somalia - African Union troops alongside Somali forces seized the formerly Islamist-held town of Wanla Weyn on Sunday, the latest loss for the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab fighters, commanders said.
Its capture – reportedly without a fight – is a key step towards opening up the main highway linking the capital Mogadishu to Baidoa, a major town wrested from the Shabaab by Ethiopian troops in February.
The AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which also seized the Balli Doogle airstrip on Sunday, have now advanced over 90 kilometres (55 miles) northwest from Mogadishu since launching an offensive outside the city in May.
“Somali government forces with the support of AMISOM troops have secured the strategic town of Wanla Weyn on the Afgoye-to-Baidoa corridor,” said Andrew Gutti, commander of the 17,000-strong AMISOM force.
Wanla Weyn lies roughly a third of the way to Baidoa from Mogadishu, with the remaining 160 kilometres (100 miles) still controlled by the Shabaab.
“The capture of this town denies Al Shabaab another source of illegal income after a string of defeats,” Gutti added in a statement.
“It will also facilitate the provision of much-needed humanitarian assistance to the local population.”
Kenyan troops – who invaded Somalia a year ago before later integrating into AMISOM – are also pushing up from the south, having last week seized the Shabaab bastion and major port of Kismayu.
The hardline insurgents still control the town of Jowhar, some 80 kilometres northeast of Mogadishu, and the small port town of Barawe, lying some 180 kilometres down the coast from the capital.
Kenyan troops – who invaded Somalia a year ago before later integrating into AMISOM – are also pushing up from the south, having last week seized the Shabaab bastion and major port of Kismayu.
However, the fighters have largely retreated ahead of each assault, with some reportedly relocating to the northern Galgala mountains in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region.
In addition, vast and remote areas of bush surround many of the towns seized, which could also provide a haven for fighters who have fled.
But the Shabaab remain a potent threat, still controlling rural areas as well as carrying out guerrilla attacks – including suicide bombings – in areas apparently under government control.
The latest advance comes a day after Somalia’s newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud named his prime minister, businessman Abdi Farah Shirdon Said, in the first major decision of the administration.
Mohamud, who took office last month after being chosen by parliament in a UN-backed process, is being supported by international efforts in the hope of rebuilding stability after more than two decades of anarchy and war.
However, Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage dismissed the new prime minister as “yet another apostate appointment by foreign powers.”
- AFP