CAIRO: The Somali government and Ethiopian forces have captured a key area in southern Somalia from militant Islamist group al-Shabab, lawmakers reported on Tuesday. Mohamud Sayid Aden told dpa that the Bardale district in Bay region, an al-Shabab stronghold, fell to Somali government forces. Casualties were unknown, although some al-Shabab fighters were captured, he said. There was no immediate comment from the insurgents. Al-Shabab, which recently announced it was merging with al-Qaeda, is losing ground across Somalia in the face of concerted pressure from the African Union, Kenya, Ethiopia and pro-government forces. The group pulled out of Mogadishu in August last year. Observers believe it is suffering from infighting and is on the verge of collapse, five years after it started an insurgency to topple the internationally backed government. A high-level meeting is due to take place in London on Thursday as international actors look to take advantage of al-Shabab's weakness to bring stability to Somalia after two decades of civil war. ** with dpa BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/qwHHW Tags: Shabab, Somalia, Territory Section: East Africa, Latest News
