Friday 3 June 2011

African Union forces capture last western outpost in Mogadishu


By the CNN Wire Staff
June 3, 2011 -- Updated 1120 GMT (1920 HKT)
Somali government soldiers clean their weapons at southern Mogadishu?s Shirkole area on Thursday, June 2.
Somali government soldiers clean their weapons at southern Mogadishu?s Shirkole area on Thursday, June 2.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Forces have pushed militants out of the last outpost in western Mogadishu, officials say
  • The capture of the outpost allows for the reopening of the main road to the famed Bakaara Market
  • Somali forces and African Union troops have been battling militants for control of Mogadishu
(CNN) -- Somali government forces and African Union troops pushed al Qaeda-linked militants out of its last outpost in the western part of Mogadishu, opening the main artery to the famed Bakaara Market, the African Union Mission to Somalia said Friday.
It's the latest action in a months-long military campaign designed to push al-Shabaab fighters out of the Somali capital. African Union peacekeeping forces, who have been operating under a U.N. mandate, say the military action is designed to inhibit al-Shabaab's ability to hide behind civilians and limit civilian casualties, the African Union has said.
The capture Thursday of Damanyo, a militant outpost in western Mogadishu, opens one of the city's main arteries to the famed Bakaara Market, the African Union said in statement released Friday. The market is the city's commercial hub and the site where one of two U.S. Blackhawk helicopters were downed by militants in 1993.
Raging street battles in the capital since February have pitted government troops, backed by the African Union, against the jihadist movement al-Shabaab, which controls much of southern Somalia.
Al-Shabaab is waging a war against Somalia's government in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law, or sharia. Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, and fighting between the rebels and government troops has escalated the humanitarian crisis in the famine-ravaged country
The peacekeeping force is charged with protecting key government and strategic installations in Mogadishu, including the port, airport and presidential palace. It is the de facto military force of the weak, transitional Somali government.

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