Mogadishu: Somali government forces backed by African Union (AU) peacekeeping troops Saturday announced the capture of a coastal town from Al-Shabaab militants, officials and media said.
“The Somalia National Army (SNA) supported by AMISOM peacekeepers have liberated the coastal town of Adale in the Middle Shebelle region after Al-Shabaab terrorists fled the town,” Xinhua quoted the AU Somalia mission, known as AMISOM, as saying in a statement.
Local media reports indicate that the town of Adale, a key trading town in Middle Shabelle region, 220 km northeast of Mogadishu, fell without conflict as militant fighters fled as allied forces approached.
Officials said the aim of the offensive, which has so far recaptured six major towns, was “liberating more towns from the terrorist group Al-Shabaab” so as to increase Somali government’s “area of responsibility and control”.