<
http://somalilandsun.com/index.php/world/somalia/1954-somalia-al-shabaab-mi
litants-still-control-kismayo-outskirts> Somalia: Al Shabaab militants still
control Kismayo Outskirts
Mon, 17 December 2012 13:17
On the four-mile stretch of paved road between the Kenyan army's main base
and the southern Somali city of Kismayo, a man leading a donkey cart
whispered a short warning in the local Somali language as a fleet of Kenyan
troops and allied Somali militiamen rolled past.
"Watch out," the man, who gave only his first name, Adan, in the brief
encounter, told a McClatchy correspondent. "There might be bombs on the road
ahead."
When told of the exchange minutes later, a Kenyan soldier growled. "These
people work with al Shabab," said the officer, who never gave his name.
"They know where bombs have been planted, but they won't tell us. Don't
trust them."
In Kenya, the news that its army has captured Kismayo, the longtime
stronghold of the al-Qaida-affiliated rebel group al Shabab, had been
trumpeted as a resounding victory against a defeated Islamist militant
network.
But, on the ground, the truth is much muddier. It's clear that al Shabab had
been weakened, but also that it is far from vanquished and that it is
regrouping for a long-term guerrilla insurgency.
When Kenya crossed into Somalia in October 2011, Kismayo was the goal - the
financial nerve center for a rebel administration that covered most of
southern and central Somalia. Since its capture in late September, however,
Kenya has boasted of its conquest but blocked access to the city for foreign
reporters.
A visit to Kismayo this week reveals perhaps part of the reason why: Kenyan
soldiers rarely venture into the city's center and remain holed up instead
in bases at the seaport and at airstrips north and south of the city. With
al Shabab fighters able to melt in and out of civilian life with relative
ease, Kenyan soldiers struggle to identify friend from foe.
Outside the city, the war is far from over. Al Shabab still controls much of
the countryside, and at night, the pop and thump of firefights rage until
dawn. The Kenyan military says al Shabab frequently carries out hit-and-run
attacks at night. The fighting seemed especially concentrated toward Anjeel,
a village a few miles from Kismayo that was supposedly wrested from al
Shabab control.
At the southern airstrip, troops fan out on foot to secure a three-mile
radius before incoming aircraft land, leery of unseen enemies in the bush.
"You must have a defensive line around the airport so that we can avoid
attacks from all directions," said Kenyan Maj. Nicholas Adongo.
To the north of the city, a Kenyan commander pointed further north toward
the town of Jilib, which al Shabab still holds and from which it often
launches attacks, most recently a mortar barrage on Nov. 25.
"We are waiting for commanders to tell us to move forward," said Lt. Col.
William Lenterakwai Ole Kamoiro.
In Kismayo, people are slowly returning to their homes, and businesses are
reopening. In place of al Shabab, Kenya's Somali allies, the Ras Kamboni
militia under warlord Ahmed Madobe, now rule the city under a form of
martial law.
Speaking freely is still dangerous. After seeing a McClatchy correspondent
interviewing a civilian without a translator, a Ras Kamboni port supervisor
broke up the interview and tried to confiscate the correspondent's notebook
and recorder. A Kenyan military escort asked the correspondent to return to
the armored personnel carrier for his own safety.
At a village just south of Kismayo, village chief Hassan Abdi said that, at
this point, he and his neighbors were too focused on survival to care much
anymore which men with guns were now in charge.
"We work with everyone who controls the city. I worked with al Shabab, and
this is no different. We have no choice," he said.
Yusuf, who reported from Kismayo, and Boswell, who reported from Nairobi,
Kenya, are McClatchy special correspondents. Boswell's reporting is
underwritten in part by a grant from Humanity United, a California-based
foundation that focuses on human rights issues. Email:
aboswell_at_mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: _at_alanboswell
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Received on Mon Dec 17 2012 - 10:43:00 EST
