Sunday, March 04, 2012
The African Union forces spokesperson, Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, said in the statement issued on Thursday that two soldiers were injured in the offensive that pushed rebels back after trying to regain the lost ground.
“In a swift move that started this morning, the Uganda Contingent helped capture Masalah which the extremists have been using as a base to launch attacks on the city. The move comes barely two weeks after a similar push to the south saw the security cordon around the city expanded further outwards,” he said.
Information on the number of causalities was still scanty but the AU force commander, Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha, described the operation as a success.
Base now in UPDF hands
“Today’s
[Thursday] operation has successfully extended the city’s defences and
will deny the terrorists important ground from which they have been
attacking the population,” he said.
Masalah has also been a ground from which the extremists conducted firing squads killing many innocent civilians. “We are committed to working with federal transitional authorities to eliminate threats to the Somali peace process and to create an enabling environment for reconciliation,” Gen. Mugisha said.
“AMISOM forces, both in Mogadishu and in the south of the country, will continue to support the people of Somalia as they strive to rebuild their country,” he added.
Combined force
Gen. Mugisha
commands AU forces composed of Kenyans, Burundians, Djiboutians and UPDF
deployed to support the Somali federal government of Sheikh Sharif
Sheikh Ahmed.
The AU forces are preparing to launch the second
phase of the mission which is spreading out of Mogadishu. This phase
will see Ugandan forces fight fierce battles in the al Shabaab
strongholds in the north and south of Mogadishu.
Last week, the UN
Security Council passed a resolution raising the AMISOM troop ceiling to
17,731 and allowing for the integration of Kenyan forces.