Feb 21st 2011, 11:37 by J.L. | KAMPALA
AFRICAN UNION troops in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, claim to have made a decisive advance in the fight against the al-Qaeda-linked Shabab militia. Several days of fierce fighting have seen the AU troops and their Somali allies punch through Shabab lines in districts close to the Bakara market. According to Major Barigye Ba-Hoku of the Ugandan army, a trench system used by the Shabab has been destroyed and foreign fighters have been killed, including:
Abdi Asad (Syria)
Magid Abu Yaman (Yemen)
Abdi Mansour (Pakistan)
Saman Bito (Kenya)
Anool Joorkay (India)
Sahan Barqish (nationality unknown)
The Shabab still controls Bakara and its flow of revenues. But the market is closer to falling and with it the jihadist dream of an Islamist state in the Horn of Africa. At least, that is the hope. Baobab would exercise caution in writing off the Islamists. The Shabab have plenty of commanders with field experience who will resume the fight through a campaign of bombings, sniper fire, executions and mutilations. The group controls most of south Somalia and continues to earn money through fishing, charcoal, fruit and local taxation. There was probably also some connection between the AU advance and the general election in Uganda on February 18th. Most of the frontline troops in Mogadishu are Ugandan. Last year the Shabab attacked Uganda with sucide bombers. For domestic political reasons it was important for the President Yoweri Museveni to show voters that their troops were hammering the fanatics on election day. The AU says it controls 60% of Mogadishu and 80% of its population. Its claim that 2m people live in the city looks far too high.
Abdi Asad (Syria)
Magid Abu Yaman (Yemen)
Abdi Mansour (Pakistan)
Saman Bito (Kenya)
Anool Joorkay (India)
Sahan Barqish (nationality unknown)
The Shabab still controls Bakara and its flow of revenues. But the market is closer to falling and with it the jihadist dream of an Islamist state in the Horn of Africa. At least, that is the hope. Baobab would exercise caution in writing off the Islamists. The Shabab have plenty of commanders with field experience who will resume the fight through a campaign of bombings, sniper fire, executions and mutilations. The group controls most of south Somalia and continues to earn money through fishing, charcoal, fruit and local taxation. There was probably also some connection between the AU advance and the general election in Uganda on February 18th. Most of the frontline troops in Mogadishu are Ugandan. Last year the Shabab attacked Uganda with sucide bombers. For domestic political reasons it was important for the President Yoweri Museveni to show voters that their troops were hammering the fanatics on election day. The AU says it controls 60% of Mogadishu and 80% of its population. Its claim that 2m people live in the city looks far too high.
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