Somalia National Army backed by AU Mission for Somalia (AMISOM) forces with battle-wagons and tanks have positioned near Al Shabab controlled town of Janaale south of capital, Mogadishu.
A Somalia government official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Idale News Online that allied forces (Somalia army and AMISOM) had positioned an area just 10Km away from Janaale town which is controlled by Al-Shabaab fighters.
The officer said that government troops along with African Union peacekeepers are planning to flush Al Qaeda linked Al Shabab militants out of the town in forthcoming hours.
“We are planning to drive the militants out of the town in the coming hours. The government soldiers and AMISOM troops are to launch military offensives against the Al Shabab held areas” he added.
On September last Year (2015) Al-Shabab fighters in Somalia have killed “scores” of African Union troops in an attack on their military base in Janaale town.
A week after the attack on AMISOM soldiers, Al-Shabaab released a video of the attack on the AMISOM base in Janaale, in which more than 50 Ugandan soldiers were killed by the group’s fighters.
On 18th September 2015 AMISOM vacated the town and the militant group Al-Shabaab wrested control of the town.
Al-Shabab aims to overthrow Somalia’s central government and establish a state based on its interpretation of Islamic law.
