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| Africa Horn |
| Somalia forces capture key al-Shabab town of Afmadow |
| 2012-05-31 |
| African Union and Somali government forces have captured the town of Afmadow, a strategic militant base in the south of the country. Commanders say the Islamist al-Shabab group abandoned the town without a fight as their troops approached. Afmadow is the second largest town in the south and only 115km (71 miles) from Kismayo, al-Shabab's headquarters. Despite facing pressure on a number of military fronts, the al-Qaeda group still controls much of the country. "Hopefully the next target will be Kismayo and then we will proceed to other towns and cities," interim Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. "Surely but slowly we're getting our country back from al-Shabab," he said. |
| Posted by:tipper |