Somalia: Residents flee al-Shabaab-held Kismayo port town after shelling by kenyan navy
Hundreds of residents have fled the southern Somali port of Kismayo after the Kenyan navy shelled the town ahead of an expected ground operation to capture it, officials and residents said Tuesday.
Kismayo is the main remaining stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked militants of al-Shabaab. The group, considered terrorists by the United States and others, is waging an insurgency against the U.N.-backed Somali government, which is being bolstered by African Union troops including Kenyan forces.
Residents say the militants have ordered them not leave Kismayo, but the prospect of being caught in a war between the militants and the Kenyan forces is outweighing whatever brutal punishment they could get for disobeying.