Friday May 24, 2019
By Kevin J. Kelley
Security personnel secure the scene of a car-bomb attack on February 4, 2019 in Somalia capital Mogadishu's Hamarwayne District. PHOTO | ABDIRAZAK HUSSEIN FARAH | AFP
NEW YORK, UNITED NATIONS, Al-Shabaab
has significantly increased its attacks in Mogadishu, with explosions
in the Somali capital occurring on an almost daily basis in the past two
months, the United Nations secretary-general said in a report issued on
Wednesday.
This
upsurge in bombings and mortar attacks may be an indirect result of the
stepped-up US air war on Al-Shabaab targets in rural Somalia, the report
implied.
“Air strikes
were deemed to have degraded Al-Shabaab’s operational capability and
freedom of movement,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the UN
Security Council.
“They
have also led, however, to increased Al-Shabaab movement into urban
centres, in particular Mogadishu, where their forces are less likely to
be targeted from the air.”
The
greater frequency of mortar attacks is accompanied by “Al-Shabaab's
improved capacity to hit strategic targets with precision and accuracy,”
he added.