Friday February 5, 2016
By Jason Burke
Islamists secure control without fighting after African Union troops pull out of Merka, which they captured in August 2012
Al-Shabaab militants in a passing-out parade in 2011.
Photograph: Feisal Omar/Reuters
Al-Shabaab militants have retaken a key coastal stronghold in Somalia, underlining the resilience of the extremist group.
Fighters retook the port of Merka on Friday from African Union troops who had held the town since 2012. The loss of Merka, 60 miles south of the capital, Mogadishu, is one of the most significant reverses for the multinational AU force in its nearly decade-long battle against al-Shabaab.
The AU had captured the historic port in August 2012 as it pushed the militants out of a series of towns in Somalia. There was no immediate explanation for why Merka appears to have been given up.“The AU troops pulled out of the town and al-Shabaab militants entered and have secured control without fighting,” said Ibrahim Adam, governor of the Lower Shabelle region.
Control of Merka gives al-Shabaab access to a port again. This will provide a financial boost to the organisation, allowing both taxation of local commerce and facilitating a wide range of lucrative smuggling activities.
“It’s symbolically important because it was one of the major towns retaken from al-Shabaab and underlines the resilience and longevity of the group,” said Ahmed Soliman, a regional analyst at Chatham House in London.
There was no immediate response from the AU force, known by its acronym Amisom, or government officials.
The seizure of Merka, as well as a series of high-profile al-Shabaab attacks on AU bases, indicates a new offensive spirit and capacity. The insurgents have lost ground in their campaign to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu since withdrawing from the city in 2011.
Soliman said: “Al-Shabaab has the ability to absorb losing control of key towns and have consistently been able to regroup in rural areas as well as strike in urban areas.”
Locals confirmed the takeover of Merka, saying heavily armed fighters had swept into the town with black Islamist flags before addressing residents.
“Amisom forces moved out at midday and the local administration and all other Somali security forces left a few minutes later – and then heavily armed al-Shabaab militants entered the town,” Ibrahim Mumin told the Agence France-Presse news agency. “They have been addressing residents at the district headquarters.”
International forces have suffered a series of setbacks in Somalia in recent weeks. Al-Shabaab fighters over-ran a base in the south-west manned by Kenyan troops. The extremists subsequently claimed to have killed 100 and captured more. Kenyan authorities have refused to comment on any losses.
Investigators are continuing to assess a blast on a commercial airliner that ripped a hole in its fuselage 15 minutes after take-off from Mogadishu on Tuesday.
One passenger was killed, apparently sucked out through the ragged hole ripped in the metal, which the pilot and experts suspect was caused by a bomb.
Al-Shabaab have not yet claimed responsibility for the attack and Somalia’s transport minister, Ali Jama Jangeli, has called on people to await the results of the investigation.
Last month at an AU summit, Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, called for more “resources for the forces in Somalia so that Amisom can have robust power on land, air and the sea.”
More than 20,000 AU troops are deployed in the country. However, they have been hampered by a lack of air power, including attack helicopters, leaving their bases often isolated and supply lines vulnerable to attack.
On Friday in Mogadishu a car bomb exploded, killing three people. An airport official who appeared to have been the target escaped unharmed.