Somali Shebab rebels abandon Mogadishu positions: Witnesses

MOGADISHU: Somali rebels abandoned several positions in Mogadishu overnight that were then taken over by troops of the transitional government, witnesses said Saturday.

Pro-government African Union troops have been battling Shebab rebels in Mogadishu in an offensive to secure aid delivery routes for victims of the drought threatening some 12 million people in Somalia and other Horn of Africa countries.

"This morning there is not a single fighter facing off the Somali government forces", Abdi Mohamed, a witness said.

Another, Dahir Adan, told AFP: "This morning every Shebab controlled position is empty, they moved their belongings on trucks."

A spokesman for the al Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels, Ali Mohamed Rage, said the events involved "a change of military tactics."

The United Nations says tens of thousands of people have died in the Horn of Africa famine -- which some experts link to climate change -- and the virtual anarchy inside Somalia.

Somalia has lacked a central government for two decades. Hunger is most acute in areas controlled by the Shebab, which expelled Western aid groups two years ago.

The UN this week added the capital, Mogadishu, to the list of regions battling famine.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011