At least 15 people have been killed and more
others injured early Wednesday after Africa Union
and Somalia National Army troops launched an
offensive in Jungal town, about 40 km west of
Bardere in Gedo region. Somali military officer Colonel Abdullah Osman
Isaaq said AMISOM and Somali forces also inflicted
heavy defeat on the Al-Shabaab in the battle for the
town of Jungal in an operation which saw them
seize vehicles, weapons and ammunitions from the
militants. The next task of AMISOM and Somali National
Army is to move towards the town of Bandera
where Al-Shabaab militants had been holding in
the last five years, Isaaq said. He said the allied forces are being overwhelmed in
their strongholds forcing them to flee or withdraw
from these regions and vowed to capture more
towns soon. He could not however, establish the
number of militants killed during the attack. Jungal is where AMISOM forces last week killed 51
Al-Shabaab militants and recovered 11 technical
vehicles following a major artillery bombardment
against the insurgents. According to Kenyan and Somali officials, among
those killed in the July 16 raid were Al-Shabaab
leaders  Jamaa Dhere, Ismail Jabhadi and one
intelligence chief of Al-Shabaab. Jungal was one of the main Al-Shabaab planning
and operations bases in Gedo region which has
seen an increase in militia activities recently. Officials
said increased air strikes at Jungal will be a major
setback to the militants. The AU forces including the Somali army have
intensified their presence in southern Somalia near
the Kenyan border ahead of President Obamas visit
in the region on Friday. This came as hundreds of Bardare residents have
begun fleeing from the town in anticipated
offensive on the insurgents. Namco Dahir told Xinhua that the residents of
Bardere town started to flee from their houses for
fear of being caught in middle warring sides. The residents of Bardere town are faced an
imminent threat of war and they are confused
where to go. Some are going to the direction which
Somali National Army and African Union troops are
coming from and others are moving the opposite
direction, Dahir said. Bardare is a strategic town which Al-Shabaab has
been controlling since 2009 as they launch attacks
on the Somali government.