Off the wire
• Beijing blames Didi Kuaidi, Uber for causing traffic congestion  • Myanmar gov't, ethnic groups to further negotiate next month  • Pension fund poised for riskier investment  • Backgrounder: Astronomical breakthoughs in recent years  • Turkish warplanes destroy IS targets on Syrian border: PM  • Feature: Madagascar to increase rice yield using Chinese hybrid rice  • China Headlines: China caps fertilizer, pesticide use  • Xinhua summary of Asia-Pacific stocks news at 1100 GMT, July 24  • China's crude oil futures to be settled in yuan: PBOC  • Indian stocks close lower  
You are here: 　 Home

AU troops capture Al-Shabaab key town in S. Somalia

Xinhua, July 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

The African Union (AU) and Somali troops on Friday captured another strategic town of Dinsor in Bay region of southern Somalia, military officials and witnesses said.

Senior military officer Isaaq Mahdi told Xinhua that the allied forces entered Dinsor, forcing the militants to withdraw from the town.

"The Al-Shabaab militants have pulled out, now we fully control the city," Mahdi said, adding that they will work to restore stability to the city.

"We shall punish everyone who tries to disrupt the security situation, and also call on people to cooperate with us to beef up the security," he added.

Dinsor had been one of the few urban centers used by Al-Shabaab as strongholds in battling the government troops for several years.

Residents in Dinsor reported that they saw heavily armed Ethiopian and Somali forces enter into the city after Al-Shabaab fighters fled the town.

"Al-Shabaab withdrew before the arrival of Ethiopian and government troops who were armed with tanks arrived the city," Nune Abdiasis, one of the residents in Dinsor told Xinhua.

The latest military victory comes a few days after AU Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and government troops captured Bardere town of Gedo region in southern Somalia. Endit