World Bulletin / News Desk

Somali troops have seized the southern city of Bardera from the Al-Shabaab armed group following more than four days of fighting, military officials said Wednesday.

According to Major Abdullahi Mohamed, Al-Shabaab militants withdrew from Bardera – an important agricultural center in Somalia’s Gedo region – after Somali troops entered the city.

Numerous Bardera residents had fled the flashpoint city earlier amid ongoing fighting between the two sides.

Somali troops are supported in the fight against Al-Shabaab by African Union (AU) forces, which include personnel from Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and Djibouti. 

In recent months, Al-Shabaab has suffered several significant blows, losing most of its strongholds in southern and central Somalia to government and AU forces.

Established in 2004 and ideologically aligned with Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab is an armed movement that calls for the application of Islamic Law in Somalia.