Militants from the Al-Shabaab extremist group, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), have seized a military base in Somalia's southwestern Bay Region near its capital city of Baidoa, the Somali Guardian newspaper reported on Monday, citing the local authorities and military sources
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2020) Militants from the Al-Shabaab extremist group, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), have seized a military base in Somalia's southwestern Bay Region near its capital city of Baidoa, the Somali Guardian newspaper reported on Monday, citing the local authorities and military sources.
According to the media, a car bomb rammed the gate of the base on Monday morning, after which armed fighters broke into its territory.
The clashes between militants and servicemen lasted about an hour and resulted in the soldiers being forced to retreat. There is no information on casualties on either side so far, according to the newspaper.
Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the eruption of a civil war between clan-based armed groups in the early 1990s. The situation has been further complicated by Al-Shabaab militants, who are staging numerous attacks across the country in an attempt to impose a radical version of Sharia law in the country.
