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    January 20, 2012

AU, Government Troops Seize al-Shabab Positions in Mogadishu

   VOA News
   Ugandan peacekeepers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
   patrol a road following an encounter with Islamist militia in the
   northern suburbs of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, January 20, 2012.
   Photo: Reuters
   Ugandan peacekeepers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
   patrol a road following an encounter with Islamist militia in the
   northern suburbs of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, January 20, 2012.

   Officials say African Union and Somali government troops have seized
   positions from militant group al-Shabab in the capital, Mogadishu.
   The AU force, known as AMISOM, said Friday that it had driven al-Shabab
   fighters from Mogadishu University and the Barakat Cemetery, areas on
   the city's northern outskirts.
   Witnesses in the area reported hearing heavy gunfire around dawn
   Friday. Reports from the area say at least three government soldiers
   were killed when their vehicle was attacked.
   Al-Shabab abandoned most of the city in August but had held on to a few
   areas and has continued to carry out bombings and guerilla-style
   attacks in the war-torn capital.
   The militant group is fighting to overthrow Somalia's U.N.-backed
   transitional government and impose strict Islamic law. It is battling
   AU forces in Mogadishu, as well as Kenyan soldiers in the south and
   Ethiopian troops in the west.
   Mogadishu has seen near daily attacks by insurgents in recent days. On
   Thursday, a bomb exploded near a crowded area of makeshift shelters for
   refugees. The blast, which appeared to target a police checkpoint,
   killed six people.
   The violence comes as Somalia on Friday marks six months since the
   United Nations first declared a famine in six regions of southern
   Somalia.
   Although famine warnings have now been lifted in three of those
   regions, humanitarian groups say millions are still in urgent need of
   food aid.
   But several humanitarian agencies have been forced to suspend aid to
   the region because of the violence.
   On Thursday, Doctors Without Borders announced it was closing its two
   largest medical centers in Mogadishu after two of its workers were
   killed last month.
   Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross suspended aid
   to 1.1 million Somalis, saying that local authorities linked to
   al-Shabab had blocked aid to several regions.
   The Islamist militant group has banned most foreign aid groups from
   operating in areas under its control.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.