Somali militants storm military base, 27 troops dead

MOGADISHU: Fighters of the al Shabaab group attacked a military base with a suicide car bomb in the south of Somalia, killing 27 soldiers, the group said yesterday, a blast heard by residents of a nearby town.

The attack follows a June attack on the base by al Shabaab that wounded seven soldiers. The group is battling to topple the central government and impose its rule based on its own strict interpretation of sharia law.

There was no immediate comment from government officials about the attack on the base in Baar Sanguni, about 50km distant from the port city of Kismayu.

“We first attacked the base with a suicide car bomb and then stormed,” said Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s spokesman for military operations. “We killed 27 soldiers and took the base. Some soldiers fled into the jungles.”

The military was sending reinforcements to the base following the reports of an explosion and heavy fighting after the rebel attack, one official said. – Reuters

Yemen government demands Huthis release captives

RIYADH: Yemen’s government said Sunday that it will return to the negotiating table with Huthi rebels if they release all the prisoners they are holding.

“It is necessary to show goodwill before the start of new talks through the release of all the detainees in their prisons,” Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher said at talks with United Nations envoy Martin Griffiths in Riyadh, the Saba news agency reported.

He also demanded for the Huthis to “facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid” in provinces where they control airports and ports.

UN envoy to Yemen Griffiths has been trying for weeks to restart talks on ending the conflict between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Iran-aligned Huthis that has killed nearly 10,000 people in the past three years. — AFP