More than 80 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed when the Kenyan military carried out air strikes in Somalia on Sunday.
They
targeted Al-Shabaab bases in Anole and Kuday in lower Juba region which
has been allocated to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) by the African
Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).
Keep up pressure
“Amisom forces have conducted air strikes as part of a sustained effort to destroy Al-Shabaab’s military capabilities.
The air strikes in Anole left more than 30 fighters dead, three technical vehicles and one loaded with ammunition destroyed.
In Kuday, the air strike killed more than 50 insurgents,” said an Amisom statement.
The weekend raids come just days after gunmen raided Mpeketoni and Maporomoko townships in Lamu killing 60.
Al-Shabaab
claimed responsibility through Radio Andulus in Somalia, but the Kenya
Government’s position is that the attacks were politically motivated.
KDF spokesman Emanuel Chirchir said Amisom would continue to put pressure on Al-Shabaab.
The
special representative of the chairperson of the African Union
Commission (SRCC), Mr Mahamat Saleh Annadif, commended KDF for the
raids.
“Our forces will keep up the pressure on
Al-Shabaab. We will employ all means at our disposal to end their reign
of terror,” he said.
He added that Amisom was in Somalia to work with the country’s forces and make life better for the citizens.
Ten towns
The air strikes complement the joint offensive between the Somali army and Amisom.
Apart from Kenya, other countries that have deployed forces in Somalia are Djibouti, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.
“More than 10 towns have been hit as part of a final push to liberate Somalia from the grip of Al-Shabaab,” said Amisom.
AFP quoted Al-Shabaab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab saying Kenyan troops were also fighting them on the ground on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment