Despite the famine occurring in Somalia and several other countries where thousands are currently losing the battle of starvation, an Islamic group occupied the capital, making it difficult to nearly impossible for relief workers to deliver aid to those suffering. However, it was announced that al-Shabaab has abandoned its bases in the capital. The sect is calling their move a change in military tactics rather than a retreat.
Deputy army commander Gen Abdikarim Yusuf Aden confirmed the fundamentalist group's dramatic pull-out Sunday morning, adding that it had been as a result of military pressure from government forces and its allies, including AU peacekeepers.
"I embrace with happiness the setback that overwhelmed al-Shabaab," he said. "I can now declare Mogadishu a free territory." General Aden said al-Shabaab fighters had probably realized the odds were against them in the face of a planned major offensive, informing their withdrawal from their key positions in the capital.
Most of the retreating al-Shabaab combatants headed towards Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabelle regions, respectively south and north of Mogadishu.
As the famine situation only worsens we can only hope that now that the threat of al-Shabaab is gone, people can finally get the full aid they need to recover.
