... the personification of Somali state failure...snuffies and maimed dozens more in different operations in the country’s south and central regions.
According to a statement, the Somali National Army carried out operations in Hirshabelle, Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
, and Jubaland State, where the joint forces ransacked dozens of murderous Moslem bases.
"The Somali National Army with the help of the local clan forces killed over 130 al-Shabaab gunnies and recovered weapons and supplies of medicine and foodstuff from the snuffies in different parts of Somalia," it said.
A military campaign launched last year by the army and allied clan-based militias in central Somalia seized significant swathes of land from the snuffies early on but has registered mixed results of late.
Although government forces have captured several major towns, al-Shabaab has been able to reclaim some of the territory it lost and conduct deadly raids on military bases.
The current phase of the offensive against al-Shabaab focuses on central Somalia. The government promises a second phase that will go after the group in its strongholds in the country’s south, where analysts say the group will be even harder to defeat.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's knife out of his hand......
the AU mission in Somalia resumed the drawdown of 3,000 African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
peacekeepers after a three-month pause due to "several significant setbacks" on the battlefield.