http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/world/africa/somalia-shabab-african-union-baraawe.html 2014-10-06 00:59:57 Somali Town Is Reclaimed From Shabab Militants African Union and Somali troops on Sunday took control of Baraawe, a port town on the southern Somali coast seized by the the Shabab militant group eight years ago. === BARAAWE, Somalia — The African Union force and the Somali military launched an offensive in March to drive the Shabab fighters out of towns and areas they control, and the joint forces stepped up their campaign in August after a surge in shootings and bombings in Mogadishu, the capital. Members of the Shabab, a militant Islamist network with links to Al Qaeda, have been arrested across Lydia Wanyoto, the acting special envoy of the African Union to Somalia, said in a statement on Sunday that Baraawe “is now under Somali government control.” Military officials said the troops would remain on the outskirts of Baraawe for a few hours, and enter the town on Monday. “There are no Shabab, but we felt it was not wise to rush in today, for there can be bombs planted in the town,” said a senior military officer who asked not to be named. Earlier, Abdikadir Mohamed Sidii, the governor of the Lower Shabelle region, which includes Baraawe, said, “We have completely taken Baraawe town.” Mr. Sidii said that the town was calm, but that some residents they were leaving because they believed there would be fighting in the town. “We are sure the Shabab will attack the town,” said Hussein Ibrahim, a resident who was preparing to flee. Shabab officials were not immediately available for comment, although Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, the spokesman for the militants’ military operation, said that militants had ambushed and burned two government vehicles near Baraawe on Saturday. He declined to comment on whether the militants had abandoned the town. Hussein Nur, a university lecturer in government in Mogadishu, said that Baraawe’s loss was a blow to the Shabab. “Economically, it was a port where they exported charcoal and imported what they needed,” Mr. Nur said. “Militarily, it was a strategic place where Shabab leaders and foreigners hid and trained bombers.” “For the government, it means al Shabab no longer has a base in the range of about 200 kilometers away from Mogadishu,” he added. “However, this is not the elimination of al Shabab. They are still strong and control large swathes of Somalia.” Baraawe, about 130 miles south of Mogadishu, had been fully controlled by the Shabab, with almost no government presence, since 2006. Last year, shortly after a deadly siege by the Shabab on a mall in The Shabab banned many aspects of modern life in the town and applied strict literal interpretation of Islamic law, ordering executions, floggings and amputations for crimes like theft. They ruled most of the southern region of Somalia from 2006 until 2011, when African Union troops marched into the capital. Western states, unnerved by the rising tide of Islamic militancy, have supported the African Union peacekeeping force financially for years and say the Shabab exploited Somalia’s chaos to train their fighters. The Shabab lost the southern port of Kismayo to the African Union troops and Somali government forces in September 2012. The militants had controlled the port since 2007 and taxed ships that used it, raising revenues to expand their military campaign. Since being pushed out of Kismayo, the Shabab fighters have responded with a series of shootings and grenade attacks against the government in Mogadishu. The African Union peacekeeping force has 22,000 members that includes soldiers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Sierra Leone.