Kenya Army to Take Last Al-Shabaab Hold by August, Nation Says

By Sarah McGregor
Jun 2, 2012
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Kenyan forces plan to seize al-Shabaab’s last major bastion, the port city of Kismayo, by the end of the Somali government’s transition period on Aug. 20, theSaturday Nation reported, citing Chief General Julius Karangi.

Capturing Kismayo will deprive the al-Qaeda-linked militant group of a key source of revenue, after Kenyan soldiers fighting as part of an African Union operation seized Afmadow town earlier this week, the Nairobi-based newspaper said today.

Kenya’s military began an incursion into southern Somalia in October to drive out al-Shabaab, which has waged a five-year insurgency against the United Nations-backed administration of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Kenya began the assault to secure its borders after blaming the rebel group for the murder of a British tourist at a luxury resort and the abduction of at least four foreign holidaymakers and aid workers in Kenya.

Source: Bloomber