Amisom troops have been deployed to hunt for al-Shabab fighters in southern Somalia. Picture: Dominic Hurst, BBC News.
When
I saw the trenches and foxholes used by al-Shabab fighters on the front
line just north of Kismayo, the war taking place inside Somalia
suddenly became very real.
I've always known that al-Shabab was an army as well as a
radical group capable of the most extreme acts of terror - but here was
the evidence of its military side before my eyes. A series of scrape holes stretched across a broad front, littered with the recent detritus of fighting men - bullet casings, empty soda bottles and the odd scrap of uniform.
I was on the front line between al-Shabab and forces from the African Union's Mission in Somalia (Amisom), accompanying the Bravo combat team of the Sierra Leone army.
We were heading for the village of Gobweyn, about 10km (six miles) north of Kismayo, one of the key strongholds of al-Shabab in southern Somalia.
Gobweyn is notorious in the region as the last al-Shabab-held frontline town outside Kismayo. It is known as a launching point for attacks.
Cardboard map The day had begun with Bravo team's Lieutenant Joseph Adekunle briefing a room of 50 fighting men - commandos, snipers, drivers, radio operators and medics.
Al-Shabab at-a-glance
- "The Youth" in Arabic
- Formed as a radical offshoot of the Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled Mogadishu, in 2006
- Previously ran much of southern Somalia
- Lost some popular support by banning Western aid agencies during 2011 famine
- Estimated to have 7,000 to 9,000 fighters
- Announced merger with al-Qaeda in 2012
They all listened intently, staring hard at an old, flattened cardboard box that served as an operational map.
Objectives were clearly marked and coloured arrows showed the planned movement. The cardboard map may have been unusual, but when the men climbed into their South African-made Mamba armoured cars to start the operation, they were well drilled and efficient.
Once in the vehicles, they prayed. Whether Christian or Muslim, they all recited the Lord's Prayer in English followed, in Arabic, by some verses from the Koran.
Their first objective was an abandoned old hotel about 5km (three miles) north of Kismayo.
When we got close, Lt Adekunle deployed three men to search the blackened and crumbing building. I stood next to the lieutenant, taking cover next to a vicious thorn bush, as he directed operations.
Trenches and foxholes "They used to use this location," Adekunle said, in a voice that combined staccato military with lyrical west African tones.
African Union troops regularly engage with al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia.
The village of Gobweyn is one of the key strongholds of al-Shabab in southern Somalia. Pictures by Dominic Hurst, BBC News.
The frontline of the conflict in southern Somalia is littered with the detritus of war.
African Union troops regularly engage with al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia.
A network of trenches and foxholes marks the presence of the militants.
(Pictures by Dominic Hurst, BBC News) "We pushed them back, but at night they sometimes try to come here again and shoot at our positions back at the old airport".
From inside the abandoned hotel, I heard his men shouting: "Room clear, room clear."
We continued up the road on foot, the tall young Lieutenant barking orders into his walkie-talkie as he jogged up the road.
The second objective on the way to the village of Gobweyn was what Lt Adekunle called "the old air force base". There were hardly any buildings left standing.
This was where I saw the network of trenches and foxholes. Lt Adekunle identified them as the militants' dugout positions.
AK-47 rifles "We've pushed them back and we try to dominate the area by patrols. But we don't have enough men to occupy everywhere, so they sometimes manage come back to shoot at us from these dugouts," he said.
As we drove towards Gobweyn, one of the men in the lead Mamba armoured vehicle said he saw people running away with AK-47 rifles in their hands. A corporal travelling alongside me said something similar.
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“Start Quote
Somali villagerAl-Shabab were here. And they will be back. So we cannot say a word.”
"Look - over there," he shouted, prodding and pointing. "They're running away over there."
I didn't see the men, but their presence appeared to be
confirmed by what we found later when we reached the village. and found
it eerily silent and inactive - not at all like a normal African
settlement. We also spotted several overturned, bright yellow plastic jerry cans next to a puddle of water. Somalis don't abandon their water carriers - one of their most precious possessions in a drought-hit land - unless they have a very good reason.
I do not know if these water gatherers fled because they saw the gunmen or the Amisom troops, but it added to the air of tension.
Most people in the village declined to talk and moved slowly away from the soldiers and the BBC team, perhaps due to the flak jackets and helmets we were wearing, but one man seemed happy to speak.
I asked him if what Amisom had told me - that Gobweyn was full of al-Shabab militants - was true?
"Al-Shabab are everywhere", he said. "They're in Kismayo, they're in Mogadishu, and look what happened in Nairobi - they're there too."
It wasn't clear if this was meant to be a statement of fact, or a boast, or a way of saying something without getting himself into trouble.
But a shiver ran down my spine when someone else privately whispered to us: "Al-Shabab were here. And they will be back. So we cannot say a word."
SOURCE: BBC
