Somalia’s Shebab insurgents on Friday retook their stronghold of Merka from African Union troops who had held the key port since 2012, in one of the biggest setbacks for the multi-national force.
The loss of Merka, the state capital of Lower Shabelle, is one of the most dramatic reverses for the AU force in its nearly decade-long battle against the Shebab.
“The AU troops pulled out of the town and Shebab militants entered — and have secured control without fighting,” Ibrahim Adam, governor of the Lower Shabelle region told reporters.
The historic port, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu, was captured in August 2012 by African Union troops.
It is one of the first major towns the Shebab have seized back and it gives them access to a sea port again.
There was no immediate response from the AU force, known by its acronym AMISOM, or government officials.
Residents confirmed the takeover, saying heavily armed Shebab fighters swept into the town with Islamist black 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 Shebab militants entered the town,” said Ibrahim Mumin, a local.
“They have been addressing residents at the district headquarters.”
The loss of Merka comes as foreign investigators probe a blast on a commercial airliner that ripped a hole in its fuselage, 15 minutes after take-off from Mogadishu on Tuesday, which the pilot and experts fear was a bomb.