MOGADISHU, Somalia – A heavy fighting broke out between African Union troops from Uganda and al Shabaab in Qoryoley town, some 95km south west of Mogadishu.
The fighting flared up when armed militants launched an ambush attack on Ugandan troops’ base in the town, triggering a fierce clash, a witness said.
He says the peacekeeping forces had repulsed the militants’ attack.
It is unclear how many were killed in the fighting.
There was no immediate comment from the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.
al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda linked group continues to hold small rural areas in central and southern Somalia
The group was pushed out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in 2011 after a joint offensive carried out by Somalia and African Union troops.
The rebel group wants to overthrow the weak UN-backed government in Somalia and impose its own strict interpretation of Islamic law.
