Al Shabaab battles Somalia's army for control of strategic military base
MOGADISHU - Al Shabaab fighters battled Somali troops and allied forces for control of a strategic army base in central Somalia on Thursday, the government and a military official said, as the al Qaeda-linked militants tried to extend recent gains in the region.
Capturing the base in Wargaadhi town in the Middle Shabelle region, which houses soldiers, special forces and clan fighters, would enable al Shabaab to sever an important trunk road between the capital Mogadishu, 200 km (124 miles) to the southwest, and Galmudug State.
Al Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency in Somalia since 2007 to seize power, said in a statement that its fighters had captured the base and Wargaadhi town, something the government denied was the case.
The information ministry said in a statement that government forces had killed more than 40 jihadists after they attempted to attack the base on Thursday morning.
However, army officer Hussein Ali told Reuters the militants had taken the town of Wargaadhi after "fierce fighting".
"Our forces lost 12 men, mostly (clan fighters). Around 20 al Shabaab fighters were also killed," Ali said. "But finally al Shabaab got more reinforcements and managed to capture the town."
He said Somalia's military was struggling to send reinforcements because they would need to use routes passing through areas held by al Shabaab.
Two soldiers said the government forces, backed by air strikes, had managed to recapture part of the town by mid-morning.
Reuters could not independently verify any of the claims made by either side about the fighting.
Last week al Shabaab attacked the town of Adan Yabal, about 245 km (150 miles) north of Mogadishu which the military had been using as an operating base for raids on the group.
The attacks are part of an offensive by the group launched last month. Al Shabaab briefly captured villages within 50 km (30 miles) of Mogadishu, raising fears among residents of the capital that the city could be targeted.
Somali forces have since recaptured those villages but al Shabaab has continued to advance in the countryside, as the future of international security support to Somalia appears increasingly precarious.
A new African Union peacekeeping mission replaced a larger force at the start of the year, but its funding is uncertain, with the United States opposed to a plan to transition to a U.N. financing model. REUTERS
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Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Russia at the gates: How Ukraine defended a strategic city for months
DONETSK REGION - For months, Ukraine has picked off Russian soldiers by the thousand around the frontline city of Pokrovsk, using small drones armed with bombs to tie down a numerically superior force. Now though, Russian troops are creeping forward in a summer offensive that has probed weak spots in Ukraine's defences and last week saw some Russian soldiers enter the city for the first time, according to footage on Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels and geolocated by Reuters. Ukrainian soldiers' success in stopping their enemy from taking Pokrovsk since last year has long thwarted one of Moscow's central military goals, although the city itself is heavily damaged and all but a few hundred of the 60,000-strong population has fled. Pokrovsk sits atop large coking coal reserves and until Russian forces moved closer was important to Ukraine's military supply lines in the country's east. 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The Ukrainian resistance in and around Pokrovsk has blocked Russia's ambition of taking the remaining parts of Ukraine's Donetsk region, one of President Vladimir Putin's principal war aims. Although its significance to Ukraine as a military supply centre has already faded, Kyiv-based military analyst Serhii Kuzan said Pokrovsk's fall could free up Russian troops and open the door to more Russian advances in the region. More than a million Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, almost a quarter of those since the start of this year, according to British military intelligence estimates. Reuters could not verify these numbers. Neither Ukraine nor Russia gives official data on their own personnel losses. ILL-TRAINED Towards the end of last year, Moscow's commanders deployed soldiers with very little training, including convicts or injured men, according to conversations with five relatives of Russian soldiers. 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The overall Russian advance over the whole frontline doubled from 226 square kilometres in April to around 538 square kilometres in May, according to open-source analyst Pasi Paroinen with the Finnish 'Black Bird Group'. DeepState estimated that Ukraine had its biggest territorial losses of 2025 in June. More than a quarter of the 556 square kilometres taken by Russia in June were on the Pokrovsk front, DeepState estimated. Filimonov's Da Vinci Wolves fight on, defending the city against Russia's latest recruits. 'Russia finds new victims, which it throws into the furnace,' he said. REUTERS
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Shaolin Temple's 'CEO monk' probed for embezzlement, relations with women, China News
BEIJING — The abbot of China's famed 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple is under criminal investigation for alleged embezzlement, "improper relationships" with women and fathering illegitimate children, religious authorities said. Shi Yongxin, 59, previously a member of China's parliament, is "suspected of criminal offences, misappropriating and embezzling project funds and the temple's assets," the temple said in a statement, adding Shi is under joint investigation by multiple agencies. Shi could not immediately be reached for comment. The temple did not answer a call from Reuters. Nicknamed the "CEO monk" and known for his commercial ambitions, Shi sought to capitalise on the monastery's fame during his decades-long tenure at Shaolin Temple, the fabled birthplace of kung fu and the setting for many martial arts films in the central Chinese province of Henan. Shi has "seriously violated Buddhist precepts, maintained improper relationships with multiple women over a long period of time" and fathered at least one "illegitimate" child, the temple said in its statement released on its social media account on Sunday. In a statement issued on Monday, the state-supervised Buddhist Association of China said it approved the revoking of Shi's ordination certificate, adding that his "behaviours are extremely deplorable in nature, have seriously damaged the reputation of the Buddhist community and tarnished the image of monks." In 2015, a letter circulated online accusing Shi of misconduct and improper sexual relations. The temple denied the allegations at the time. Shi, known as Liu Yingcheng before he became a monk in 1981, has overseen the temple since 1987 and became its abbot in 1999, the temple's website showed. In 2008, the temple opened an online store, offering a range of goods including shoes, tea, T-shirts, and a kung fu instruction manual for 9,999 yuan (S$1,788). Its business ventures over the years also included book publishing, medicine, kung fu performances, film production, asset management and real estate. Shi posted daily on his social media account on Weibo with more than 882,000 followers. Shi was a delegate of China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress, for around two decades until 2018. He has also been deputy head of China's Buddhist association. [[nid:720293]]
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Bangkok shooting: Gunman opens fire at popular market in Chatuchak, killing at least 6, Asia News
At least six people are dead following a shooting at a farmer's market in Bangkok on Monday (July 28), Thai police reportedly said. The incident occurred at Or Tor Kor Market, located just opposite the popular Chatuchak Weekend Market. Four security guards at the market as well as a woman were killed, reported Reuters. Bangkok Post reported that the shooting occurred around 12.40pm. The gunman, who was wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage shorts, was found dead on a bench inside the market. Police identified him as 61-year-old Noi Praidaen based on the identity card he was carrying. "[The] police are investigating the motive. So far it's a mass shooting," Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bangkok's Bang Sue district where the incident occurred, told AFP. According to broadcaster Thai PBS, two women were injured and have been taken to hospital.
