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AMISOM denies withdrawal of troops from Marka town

Storyline:National News

African Union peace-keeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has refuted report purporting that AMISOM troops in Marka have abandoned their defensive position.

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia and Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, said in a press statement that the peacekeepers wouldn’t pull back from Marka town that will let Al-Shabab to recapture.

“AMISOM troops in Marka are undertaking a re-adjustment of their position, which has been in a built up area and is increasingly getting populated, to Marka Ayub, which is about a kilometre from the previous position” reads statement released by AMISOM.

It further highlights that the decision is influenced by tactical considerations. It is further influenced by AMISOM’s concern for the safety of the local population in Marka in case of any combat engagements.

The statement says AMISOM troops’ leadership was in Marka on Saturday to re-assure the inhabitants of this port town and to allay fears of their abandonment being peddled by enemies of Somalia.

Al-Shabab fighters recaptured the key port of Marka, just hours after Somali forces and AMISOM peacekeepers swept into the city on Saturday.

Local residents who spoke to Goobjoog News said the group retake town without resistance from SNA and its allied AMISOM troops.

“Al-Shabab left the town this morning but came back with more fighters and AMISOM troops who retake the town few hours ago vacate the town heading towards north of the town” he said.

The move to recapture the town for the second time by Al-Shabab came three hours after Somali National Army supported by African Union troops recaptured Marka town which was taken over by Al-Shabab fighters on Friday after AMISOM withdrew from the town.

Though al-Shabab was pushed out of key towns in South and Central Somalia, the group has been able to hit high-profile targets in Mogadishu’s heavily fortified areas, including the national courts, the UN compound, the Turkish embassy, and popular gathering places.