AMISOM Troops Withdrew from Qoryooley

African Union Peace-keeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops have withdrown from Qoryooley district.

Residents in Qoryoley town of Lower Shabelle are reporting that AMISOM troops stationed there have withdrawn overnight.

Troops could be seen leaving the town in convoys and even evacuating their stationary heavy equipment.

Qoryooley district commissioner, Mohamed hajji Osman who gave exclusive interview to Goobjoog News has confirmed the withdrawal of AMISOM troops from the district.

“Somali national Army and AMISOM troops have vacated the town and now the tension is high as people started fleeing” he said.

He added that Al-Shabab fighters can invade the town anytime as there are no capable soldiers to resist them.

Al-Shabaab has vowed to increase attacks during the fasting month of Ramadan as it has diverted most of its attacks out of Mogadishu apart from handful incidents.

Video images taken by Al-Shebab

It was only last Friday when Al-Shabab fighters overran AMISOM base in Lego locality where they have taken control of the base for two consecutive days.

The Shebab later boasted of having killed 80 soldiers and carried off the bodies of 60 of them, before setting the base on fire.

Video images taken by the Shebab and seen by Goobjoog News show several bodies scattered around the ransacked base, with one shot showing around a dozen bodies lined up.

Shebab commander Mohamed Abu-Abdallah said his fighters were celebrating their advance in Lower Shabelle.

“The enemy is fleeing from the region… this is the beginning of the fall of the Christian invaders,” he said.

The African Union mission to Somalia is largely made up of troops from Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya and Sierra Leone.