Africa

Africa

400 al-Shabab supporters hauled up in Somali port city Kismayo

02 November 2012 05:05 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Some 400 people have been apprehended in a major security operation in the Somali port city of Kismayo, which was al-Shabab fightersâ€™ last major bastion before they withdrew in September, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and a pro-government militia conducted Thursdayâ€™s operation.

The captured men are reportedly supporters of the militant group, which abandoned the city following an AMISOM military attack on September 28.

According to the residents of Kismayo, the city was in complete lockdown for most of the day.

The security forces ordered the closure of markets and schools as they searched the city for al-Shabab supporters.

Last month, sources close to al-Shabab told Press TV that the militants were preparing to make a desperate last stand in the Mogadishu area.

The sources said the al-Shabab militants have nowhere to turn to after being forced to flee from many strategic towns and regions in Somalia and have decided to launch an attack on African Union troops and TFG troops in the Mogadishu area.

In December 2006, al-Shabab broke away from the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and began attempting to topple the various configurations of the TFG that came and went.

In the process, al-Shabab militants fought against the Ethiopian forces that had invaded Somalia and also African Union troops and TFG forces.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

However, MPs meeting in Mogadishu elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new president of Somalia with a big majority on September 10.

The TFG has been battling al-Shabab fighters for almost six years and is propped up by a 10,000-strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.