Ahmad 
The Somali Armed Forces succeeded in repelling attacks launched by “Al-Shabaab” on newly liberated areas in Jubba land State, south of the country.
“Reuters” reported, citing Somali officials, that the clashes resulted in the killing of dozens of militants from the movement.
According to local security sources, Al-Shabaab attempted to storm three military bases southwest of the coastal city of Kismayo in Jubba land state, but government forces were able to repel the attacks.
The attacks were carried out in a coordinated and separate manner on military bases in southern and western Kismayo, in addition to attacks on the towns of Bulu Haji, Harpoli and Medo.
The militants attacked a fourth base in Bar Sangoni in an attempt to prevent reinforcements from reaching the bases that were attacked.
Major Mohamed Farah Dahir, spokesman for the Jubba land region forces, confirmed that “135 militants were killed in the attacks,” and weapons were confiscated from the dead, in addition to the arrest of six militants alive, noting that the largest number of deaths and injuries occurred in Polo Haji.
The Somali Deputy Minister of Information, Abd al-Rahman Yusuf al-Adlah, stated that “Al-Shabaab militants suffered heavy defeats and losses on various fronts,” while Al-Shabaab claimed that its fighters attacked several military bases belonging to the Somali forces.
In another context, a report by the International Maritime Bureau indicated the return of Somali piracy this year, with eight piracy and kidnapping operations recorded in the first half of the year near the Somali coast.
Although attacks have declined in recent years thanks to tight security measures, violence against the crews of targeted ships has increased, with pirates using weapons in more than half of the attacks.
It is noteworthy that Somalia witnessed an escalation in maritime piracy in 2008, which peaked three years later, causing severe damage to the maritime industry.
Somalia… Fierce clashes between the army and the ‘Al-Shabaab’ movement