BASRA, Somalia – A fighting broke out between Al-Shabaab and Somali government troops on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the country’s capital city on Saturday, residents said.
Confirming the incident, some villagers in the Basra area said the battle came following a morning ambush attack against the SNA base by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab fighters.
Basra lies along the main highway between Afgoye and Bal’ad towns, about 35 kilometers away from Mogadishu. Due to its strategic importance, the villages saw several attacks.
“We woke up to the sound of the gunfire on Saturday morning after the SNA camp in our area came under attack from Al-Shabaab, sparking a fierce battle between the two sides,” said a resident, speaking to Radio Shabelle by phone.
The details of the casualty number still remain unverified as the two warring sides are yet to release statements regarding the Basra attack. The situation was reported to be tense.
The government deployed reinforcements from NISA and Haram’ad to the area to help SNA push back Al-Shabaab, according to an official, who gave the information to Radio Shabelle.
The attack comes as SNA with allies continue offensive in central Somalia as part of plans to retake Al-Shabaab from last areas under its control as president Hassan Sheikh put it.
