(24-Feb-23) Mogadishu, Somalia – Al-Shabaab launched a mortar attack on a military base that houses Jubaland regional forces on Friday. The base, located in the town of Afmadow in the Lower Jubba region, is near Somalia and Kenya border, where Al-Shabaab has been known to carry out hit-and-run attacks.
The attack comes as Al-Shabaab continues to ramp up its activities in Jubaland, in an attempt to disrupt the planned military offensive by the Somali National Army and regional troops to reclaim areas that are under the group’s control.
Kenya has roughly 4,000 soldiers stationed in Jubaland as part of the African Union’s peacekeeping mission to fight Al-Shabaab and safeguard VIPs. Kenya’s Defence Forces (KDF) crossed the Somali border in 2011 and joined the African Union’s mission in 2012 to combat Al-Shabaab, which represents a potent threat to Kenya.
