Somali army captures key town from Al-Shabaab rebels

The Somali National Army, along with African Union troops, on Sunday launched a long-awaited offensive against al Qaeda-linked Somali rebels and captured the town of Jowhar.


The Somali National Army, along with African Union troops, on Sunday launched a long-awaited offensive against al Qaeda-linked Somali rebels and captured the town of Jowhar, the AU and residents said.

The joint forces faced little resistance, the African Union Mission for Somalia said in a press release, adding that Jowhar had been a major base for Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.

Abdi Isac, a local resident, said by phone from Jowhar that the allied troops peacefully entered the city after the Islamist militants pulled out without a fight or firing a single shot.

Government forces and AU tanks were visible encircling the town and moving cautiously into the police stations and administrative offices in Jowhar to secure the city, residents said.

The Al-Shabaab fighters headed toward the nearby rural area that is their stronghold, reports said.

Jowhar, 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, lies at a strategic crossroads of routes to the north and south of the country.