BAIDOA, Somalia Dec 9 (Garowe Online) - The president of Somalia’s UN-backed interim government secretly visited his troops overnight Friday after heavy fighting broke out between government and Islamist forces earlier in the day, confidential sources said.
President Abdullahi Yusuf was accompanied by his top military commanders on his visit to the troops, which military officials said was designed to further motivate government forces in the region.
Heavy fighting erupted on Friday in Diinsoor, a district southwest of the government base at Baidoa. The Islamists have claimed victory and the government has denied such claims, but its difficult to independently confirm what any group says because communication lines to Diinsoor have been cut for the past week.
Sources said President Yusuf urged government troops to prepare to continue the war against the Islamic Courts. The eruption of violence follows a decision last Wednesday by the UN Security Council approving an 8,000-strong African peacekeeping force to deploy in Somalia in support of Yusuf’s government.
Violence continues
Reports from the frontlines of the battle indicate that the two opposing military forces exchanged artillery fire on Saturday.
Somali government troops and Islamist forces are facing each other in the Safar Noleys area in the outskirts of Diinsoor town, residents reported.
One Islamist official told Garowe Online that fighting began again on Saturday and is continuing, adding that its difficult to ascertain the number of casualties.
The government’s deputy defense minister Salad Jeele denied that heavy fighting was going on in the Diinsoor area, but admitted that there was war intensity in the region.
Baidoa residents reported seeing hundreds of troops and weaponry leaving the town and heading to the frontlines.
Garowe Online News
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