Kismayu,Somalia
Residents of Kismayu have been displaced from Kismayu as the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) soldiers intensify their aerial raids and naval operations in marching towards the strategic port town to launch major onslaught on Al-Shabaab.
Despite criticism that several civilians have been victims of air strikes in Southern Somalia, the military operation against the Al-Shabaab has intensified since the past week with soldiers massing near the only remaining stronghold of the insurgents.
The UNHCR, through humanitarian bulletin released in Nairobi on Tuesday, said its population movement tracking system has recorded a steady but not large-scale displacement in the past month from Kismayu.
Displacement of IDPs from Kismayo has mostly been on a short- term basis as many return from towns such as Jamaame and Jilib seeking to re-establish livelihood opportunities as soon as the situation stabilizes,” the UNHCR said in its humanitarian update.
According to the bulletin, Al-Shabaab has imposed restrictions on people moving out of the city to other parts of Lower Juba, a move that has resulted in many fleeing the anticipated conflict to move to Mogadishu.
The intensified military campaign to hunt down the Al-Shabaab before entering Kismayu for a takeover mission saw the AMISOM soldiers kill dozens of the militants and recover several ammunitions from the Al-Shabaab including technical vehicles.
The AU soldiers have been using attack helicopters and naval ships and have now reached Harbole, a town that is near Kismayu.Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna is reported to have said the insurgents were determined to slow down the looming major onslaught on them but will not succeed.
Oguna said AMISOM forces are prepared to have casualties as part of the efforts the brave soldiers were ready to pay to seize the strategic port city. The intensified tactical operations on the frontline have been buoyed by the return to normalcy in some liberated areas in southern Somalia.
AMISOM troops were deployed to Somalia in 2007 with an AU Peace and Security Council and UN Security Council mandate to provide peace and stability for the Somali people.
Since then, AMISOM has helped Somali security forces secure Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, and other key strategic towns, freeing them from the brutal grip of the al Qaida-affiliated militant group, Al-Shabaab.
The deployment of the Kenyan troops in the southern regions has so far helped to prevent the movement of explosives to the strategic towns of Husingo and Badhade, the conduit points for the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the counterfeit electronics and contraband sugar smuggling across the region.
Military officials said these regions are crucial to the stabilization of Kenya’s coastal and northeastern provinces, which have been targeted by attackers preying on soft civilian targets. (Xinhua)
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