Pro-govt Somali troops seize Islamist town
Ethiopian-backed Somali government troops yesterday ousted Islamist forces from a key southern town and rolled closer to the capital Mogadishu as a second week of heavy fighting began, both sides said.
Hours after the UN Security Council failed to agree on insisting foreign troops leave the Horn of Africa, the pro-government forces seized Jowhar, about 90 kilometres north of Mogadishu and were headed south as the Islamists reportedly fled.
"We have lost the town, but we are keeping on fighting. We are still making a military retreat and they are suffering more than we do," Islamist commander Sheikh Yonis Haji Idris told AFP.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Government commander Hassan Abdulahi Jiis also confirmed the fall of Jowhar.
"We have pushed the terrorists and their backing forces back to the capital, they are losing control day by day, and Jowhar has fallen into the hands of the government forces," Jiis said.