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          Witnesses Say Warships Fired on al-Shabab Somalia Stronghold

   In Somalia, witnesses say warships have fired on a key port town
   controlled by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
   The witnesses told VOA's Somali Service the two warships, believed to
   be Kenyan, began firing at the coastal town of Kismayo early Tuesday.
   The attack continued after sunrise, with one shell hitting a house and
   wounding a child.
   Al-Shabab militants returned fire with 106-millimeter recoilless
   rifles.
   A spokesman for Kenya's military said he had no knowledge of the
   incident.
   If confirmed, the attack would open a new front against the
   al-Qaida-allied rebel group.
   Last week, African Union and Somali forces began pushing al-Shabab
   militants out of another key stronghold -- the Afgoye corridor located
   west of Mogadishu.

   Officials with AU and Somali forces say they have successfully moved
   the rebels out of the corridor, which includes a sprawling camp for
   about 400,000 refugees.
   Military officials said al-Shabab rebels were preventing aid
   organizations from operating in the region.
   Reports from southern Somalia indicated on Monday that al-Shabab
   leaders were mobilizing fighters in the south, including in Port
   Kismayo.
   Al-Shabab is fighting to overthrow Somalia's transitional government
   and impose a strict form of Islamic law.
   Last year, Kenyan and Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to pursue the
   rebels.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/warships-fire-on-al-shabab-stronghold
   -in-somalia/1120702.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/warships-fire-on-al-shabab-stronghold-in-somalia/1120702.html