Forces claim fall of last Somali rebel base

Kenya's army yesterday said it had taken the southern Somali port city of Kismayo, the last stronghold of the al-Qaeda linked Shebab, but the African Union force said operations were still ongoing.
"Kismayo has fallen and with minimum resistance," Kenyan army spokesman Cyrus Oguna told AFP, even as several residents said that fighting was ongoing and the Shebab still controlled the city centre.
"It was a joint operation both on air and ground, we finally entered Kismayo at 2:00 am (2300 GMT Thursday)," said Oguna.
However, the rebels and city residents said the Kenyan troops were still on the outskirts of the city that they have been targeting for days.
The UN refugee agency said there was no sign so far Friday of a major exodus of civilians from the city, from which an estimated 12,000 people have fled in the past four weeks and whose total population is estimated at between 160,000 and 190,000.
Kismayo is the last major bastion of the Shebab, who have lost most of their other strongholds to the 17,000-strong African Union force -- of which Kenya is a part -- as well as allied Ethiopian forces.