Battle of Jilib
Troop Movement Map
| date | December 31, 2006 - January 1, 2007 |
|---|---|
| place | Surrounding area of Jilib , Somalia |
| output | Victory of Ethiopia and the transitional government |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 3,000 Islamic militias and 60 mujahideen technicals |
Ethiopian tank artillery MiG aircraft |
The Battle of Jilib was a battle within the Somali civil war between the Union of Islamic Courts (ICU) and its allied militias, on the one hand, and troops of Ethiopia and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), on the other, over control of the city of Jilib . It began on December 31, 2006 when ICU troops occupied and defended the city to prevent government troops from advancing into Kismayo , the last base of the Union of Islamic Courts.
background
After the fall of Mogadishu , around 3,000 fighters from the Union of Islamic Courts fled to the port city of Kismayo , the last base the Islamists still held, 500 kilometers south. In Kismayo, the commander of the Union of Islamic Courts, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed , was aggressive: “We will not run from our enemies. We will never leave Somalia. We will stay in our home. "
In Jilib, the Islamists used bulldozers to dig trenches and defensive positions. In addition to the 3,000 or so fighters, they had 60 technicals on which anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons were mounted. Up to 4,700 people fled the area before the fighting broke out.
On Saturday, December 30, 2006, combined forces of Ethiopia and the TFG reached the city of Jilib , the last major city on the way to Kismayo. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed called on the ICU fighters to resist.
course
On Sunday, December 31, 2006, fighting began in the dense forests near Helashid, 18 kilometers northwest of Jilib. Ethiopian MiG fighter jets, tanks, artillery and mortars attacked Islamist positions. Residents reported that the road to Jilib had been provided with remotely controlled landmines by the ICU . Ethiopian and interim government forces also attacked Bulobaley with mortars and missiles.
At around 5 p.m., fierce rifle fighting broke out in the outskirts of Jilib between Islamist fighters and troops from the Ethiopian-backed transitional government. In addition, tanks and armored vehicles were provided by the Ethiopian army. Residents reported that the noise from heavy artillery could be heard as far as Jamaame .
Islamist leader Sheikh Yusuf Hassan said: “The fighting has started. There are heavy losses on both sides. ”He added that they would not give up. "We will fight to the death to defend Jilib and Kismayo".
The Foreign Minister of the Somali interim government, Ismail Mohammed Hurreh Buba (Esmael Mohamud Hurreh), said the fighting was going well for the interim government and that the fighting over Kismayo would last about two days. He said that the Somali coast should be kept on the lookout for dhows , small boats that might bring support to the Union of Islamic Courts in Kismayo. The United States Fifth Fleet maritime task force stationed off Djibouti patrolled the Somali coast to prevent Union fighters from "launching an attack or transporting personnel, weapons or other material," Commander Kevin Aandahl said.
During the night the artillery attacks continued and the Union front line pushed back. A mutiny within the Union split their troops and eventually left Jilib like Kismayo. At 10 a.m., the noises of the battle faded away. Around midnight, the front of the ICU in Jilib collapsed and the fighters began to flee. They also left Kismayo around two in the morning. Members of the local militia patrolled the streets and the property of members of the Union was occasionally looted. The Islamists fled towards Raas Kaambooni in southern Somalia and towards the Kenyan border.
The interim government then suggested closing the border through Kenya.
consequences
While the Union of Islamic Courts withdrew to the Kenyan border, the troops of the interim government slowly advanced to Kismayo, avoiding the many landmines that had been laid. They reached Kismayo on January 1st and took it without a fight.
Subsequently, military operations focused on securing the borders with Kenya in the Afmadow and Badhadhe areas in the Jubbada Hoose region . The Ethiopian air force and attack helicopters attacked the border town of Doble ( Dhoobley ) near Afmadow to prevent elements of the Union from crossing the border. After midnight, the fighting subsided.
On January 4, it was reported that troops of the Union of Islamic Courts were scattered in Afmadow and Badade districts and may be concentrated in Raas Kaambooni , the former stronghold of the Islamist organization Al-Ittihad Al-Islamiya (AIAI). Troops of Ethiopia and the transitional government took the district capital Afmadow on January 2nd and Dhobley on January 3rd and were on their way to Badade north of Raas Kaambooni.
swell
- ↑ Voice of America : Former Members of Radical Somali Group Give Details of Their Group ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , January 1, 2007
- ↑ BBC News: Islamists abandon Somali capital , December 29, 2006
- ↑ Associated Press : Thousands greet Somalia's prime minister as he enters capital ( Memento of the original from May 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 29, 2006
- ↑ a b Abdi Sahra, Reuters : Somali Islamists attacked near last bastion ( Memento of the original from March 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 31, 2006
- ↑ Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post : Further Combat Looms in Somalia , December 31, 2006
- ↑ SomaliNet: Somalia: Joint forces advance to Kismayo city, Islamist base ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 30, 2006
- ↑ a b Yahoo , Associated Press : Thousands Flee Somalia Fighting ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 31, 2006
- ↑ Aweys Osman Yusuf, Shabelle Media Networks: Somalia: Fighting rages around Jilib near the port town of Kismayu ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 31, 2006
- ↑ SomaliNet: Fierce fighting breaks out in southern Somalia ( Memento of the original from January 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 31, 2006
- ↑ bakutoday.net, Agence France-Presse : Clashes as Somali forces advance on Islamist stronghold ( Memento of the original from May 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 31, 2006
- ↑ Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments ( Memento of the original dated May 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. CIA, November 22, 2006
- ↑ cathy Majtenyi, Voice of America: Somali Troops Advance, Ask For Help Monitoring Coast ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 31, 2006
- ↑ Reuters / Independent On-Line (IOL): Islamists flee final bastion , January 1, 2007
- ↑ bakutoday.net, MSNBC : Islamic fighters abandon Somalia stronghold , January 1, 2007
- ↑ a b Mohamed Abdi Farah, SomaliNet : Somalia: Islamists lost their last strongholds ( Memento of the original from January 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , January 1, 2007
- ↑ BBC News: Somalia targets Islamists' escape , Jan. 1, 2007
- ↑ Reuters: Battle for Somalia nears Kenya border - residents , January 3, 2007
- ↑ David Ochami, Nzau Musau, Kenya Times : 6 Kenyans killed in Somalia air strikes; border closed ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , January 4, 2007
- ↑ Mail & Guardian, Associated Press : Kenya tightens border with Somalia ( memento of the original from October 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , January 4, 2007
