Hiiraan Online
Wednesday February 28, 2018
In this undated file photo, an Al-Shabaab fighter carrying the groups signature black flag examines a trench dug in Moqorki town after Ethiopian and Somali troops withdrew from the area in late 2016.
Beled Weyne (HOL) - Somali security forces have retaken control of Moqorki town in Central Somalia from Al-Shabaab on Wednesday morning. Driving out the militants who have controlled the town since 2016.
Military officials confirmed to local media that the town was under government control after a ferocious firefight that lasted close to an hour.
A local resident told HOL that he was awoken by gunfire this morning
"As dawn broke, government forces moved into Moqorki district, they were met by Al-Shabaab and there was a heavy exchange of gunfire," Mohamud Shiekh Abdi told HOL by phone.
The number of casualties in the skirmish is still unclear.
According to several high-placed sources, the Somali government and her allies have been preparing for a large-scale offensive against Al-Shabaab militants.
Moqokori was captured by Al-Shabaab militants in 2016 during a land offensive that was spurred by a sudden pull out by Ethiopian troops.