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{{Infobox Military Conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Fall of Kismayo
|conflict=Fall of Kismayo
|partof=the [[War in Somalia (2006-present)]]
|partof=the [[War in Somalia (2006–2009)]]
|date=[[January 1]] [[2007]]
|date=January 1, 2007
|image=
|image=[[Image:Battle-of-jilib-12312006-1404.svg|300px]]
|place=[[Kismayo]], [[Somalia]]
|place=[[Kismayo]], [[Somalia]]
|caption=(click to expand)
|caption=
|result=Ethiopian/TFG victory
|result= Ethiopian/TFG victory
*Government forces take control of Kismayo
⚫
|combatant1=[[Image:Somalia Islamic Courts Flag.svg|22px]] [[Islamic Courts Union]] <br>[[Image:Somalia Islamic Courts Flag.svg|22px]] Pro-Islamist Militias<br>Foreign [[Mujahideen|fighters]]
|combatant2=[[Image:Flag of Somalia.svg|22px]] [[Transitional Federal Parliament|Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG)<br>[[Image:Flag of Ethiopia.svg|22px]] [[Ethiopia]]
|combatant1=[[Image:Flag of Somalia.svg|22px]] [[Transitional Federal Parliament|Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG)<br>[[Image:Flag of Ethiopia.svg|22px]] [[Ethiopia]]
⚫
|combatant2=[[Image:Shahadah Flag.svg|22px]] [[Islamic Courts Union]] <br>[[Image:Flag of Jihad.svg|22px]] Pro-Islamist Militias<br>[[Image:Flag of Jihad.svg|22px]] [[Foreign Mujahideen]]
|commander1=[[Sharif Sheik Ahmed]]<br>[[Yusuf Hassan]]
|commander2=TFG: [[Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale]]
|commander1=[[Image:Flag of Somalia.svg|22px]] TFG: [[Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale]]
|commander2=[[Image:Shahadah Flag.svg|22px]] [[Sharif Sheik Ahmed]]<br>[[Image:Flag of Jihad.svg|22px]] [[Yusuf Hassan]]
|strength1=
|strength2=
|casualties1=
|casualties2=
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Ethiopian war in Somalia}}
{{Campaignbox War in Somalia (2006–2009)}}

The '''fall of Kismayo''' occurred on January 1, 2007, when the [[Military of Somalia|troops]] of [[Somalia]]'s [[Transitional Federal Parliament|Transitional Federal Government]] (TFG) and [[Ethiopia]]n forces entered the [[Somalia|Somali]] city of [[Kismayo]] unopposed. It came after the [[Islamic Courts Union]]'s forces faltered and fled in the [[Battle of Jilib]], abandoning their final stronghold.

== Background ==
The city of Kismayo had been the capital of the autonomous state of [[Jubaland]] under the administration of the [[Juba Valley Alliance]] (JVA) since the late 1990s. The JVA suffered the loss of Kismayo in September 2006 to an array of ICU forces with 130 [[Technical (fighting vehicle)|technical]]s.<ref name=SOMALIAS-ISLAMISTS-RESUME-THEIR-MOMENTUM>[http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_printable&report_id=560&language_id=1 Somalia's Islamists Resume Their Momentum and Embark on a Diplomatic Path] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422191900/http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_printable&report_id=560&language_id=1 |date=2009-04-22 }} PINR</ref><ref name=WITNESSES-SOMALI-ISLAMIST-ADVANCE-ON-KEY-PORT>[http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283959 Witnesses: Somali Islamists advance on key port] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213204127/http://mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283959 |date=2015-02-13 }}. ''[[Associated Press]]'', 13 September 2006</ref>

==Course of events==
In December 2006, after the [[Fall of Mogadishu]], much of the [[Islamism|Islamists]] began a retreat towards [[Kismayo]]. According to the ''New York Times'', when the [[Battle of Jilib]] began on December 31, 2006, clan elders within Kismayo demanded the ICU leave the city. Mohammed Arab, a clan leader said "We told them that they were going to lose, and that our city would get destroyed."<ref>{{cite news
| last =Gentleman
| first =Jeffrey
| title =Islamists, Cornered in Somalia, Lose Local Support
| work=[[The New York Times]]
| date = 2006-12-31
| url =https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/world/africa/31cnd-somalia.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1167627600&en=0f985fc2206a870b&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin
| accessdate = 2002-01-02 }}</ref> After the ICU refused, sporadic gun battles broke out between the local clans and the ICU.

The Battle of Jilib saw the ICU frontlines collapse during the night to artillery fire, causing the ICU hardliners, known as ''[[Al-Shabaab (Somalia)|Al-Shabaab]]'' (literally "The Youths" or "Young Men"<ref name=AMERICAS-SOMALI-POLICY-STILL-DANGEROUSLY-ADRIFT>[http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/global.php?id=255547 America’s Somali Policy Still Dangerously Adrift] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234315/http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/global.php?id=255547 |date=2007-09-27 }} The Family Security Foundation, Inc.</ref><ref name=WASHINGTONS-SELF-DEFEATING-SOMALIA-POLICY>[http://forums.csis.org/africa/?p=18 Washington’s Self-Defeating Somalia Policy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108162806/http://forums.csis.org/africa/?p=18 |date=2007-01-08 }} Matt Bryden</ref>), to once again go into retreat, this time towards the Kenyan border. TFG and Ethiopian forces entered the town on January 1, 2007.<ref>{{cite news
| last=Rice
| first=Xan
| title =Somalia's Islamist fighters flee last urban base as pro-government alliance closes in
| publisher =[[Guardian Unlimited]]
| date = 2006-01-02
| url =https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,,1981021,00.html
| accessdate = 2002-01-02}}</ref>

With the Kenyan border blocked, the ICU remnants were described as holding up in Badhadhe district, either in the hills of the [[Buur Gaabo]] area, or in the village of [[Ras Kamboni]] along the coast near the border.<ref name=SOMALIA-DISARMAMENT-STARTS-KENYA-BLOCKS-ISLAMISTS>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02903953.htm Somalia disarmament starts, Kenya blocks Islamists] Reuters</ref>

== Aftermath ==
In August 2008, [[Al-Shabaab (militant group)|Al Shabaab]] retook the city during the [[Battle of Kismayo (2008)]].

In September 2012, the [[Military of Somalia|Somali National Army]] assisted by [[AMISOM]] troops and [[Raskamboni movement|Raskamboni]] militia re-captured Kismayo from the insurgents in the [[Battle of Kismayo (2012)]].<ref name="Apkfalrsoaqlmis">{{cite news|title=Kenyan forces attack last remaining stronghold of al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/kenyan-forces-attack-last-remaining-stronghold-of-al-qaida-linked-militants-in-somalia/2012/09/28/c6905994-0937-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html|accessdate=28 September 2012|newspaper=Associated Press|date=28 September 2012}}{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="Gktlbaoscok">{{cite news|last=Chonghaile|first=Clar Ni|title=Kenyan troops launch beach assault on Somali city of Kismayo|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/28/kenyan-soldiers-capture-kismayo-somalia|accessdate=28 September 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=28 September 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* [[Stig Jarle Hansen]], Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamic Group 2005-12, Hurst & Co., 2013, 39-40.
{{coord missing|Somalia}}

{{War in Somalia (2006–09)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kismayo 2007}}
[[Category:2007 in Somalia]]
[[Category:Kismayo|Fall]]
[[Category:Battles of the War in Somalia (2006–2009)]]
[[Category:Battles of the Somali Civil War involving Ethiopia]]
[[Category:January 2007 events in Africa]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Islamic Courts Union]]
[[Category:Battles in 2007]]

Latest revision as of 05:28, 20 October 2024

Fall of Kismayo
Part of the War in Somalia (2006–2009)
DateJanuary 1, 2007
Location
Kismayo, Somalia
Result

Ethiopian/TFG victory

  • Government forces take control of Kismayo
Belligerents
Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
Ethiopia		 Islamic Courts Union
Pro-Islamist Militias
Foreign Mujahideen
Commanders and leaders
TFG: Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale Sharif Sheik Ahmed
Yusuf Hassan

The fall of Kismayo occurred on January 1, 2007, when the troops of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Ethiopian forces entered the Somali city of Kismayo unopposed. It came after the Islamic Courts Union's forces faltered and fled in the Battle of Jilib, abandoning their final stronghold.

Background

[edit]

The city of Kismayo had been the capital of the autonomous state of Jubaland under the administration of the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) since the late 1990s. The JVA suffered the loss of Kismayo in September 2006 to an array of ICU forces with 130 technicals.[1][2]

Course of events

[edit]

In December 2006, after the Fall of Mogadishu, much of the Islamists began a retreat towards Kismayo. According to the New York Times, when the Battle of Jilib began on December 31, 2006, clan elders within Kismayo demanded the ICU leave the city. Mohammed Arab, a clan leader said "We told them that they were going to lose, and that our city would get destroyed."[3] After the ICU refused, sporadic gun battles broke out between the local clans and the ICU.

The Battle of Jilib saw the ICU frontlines collapse during the night to artillery fire, causing the ICU hardliners, known as Al-Shabaab (literally "The Youths" or "Young Men"[4][5]), to once again go into retreat, this time towards the Kenyan border. TFG and Ethiopian forces entered the town on January 1, 2007.[6]

With the Kenyan border blocked, the ICU remnants were described as holding up in Badhadhe district, either in the hills of the Buur Gaabo area, or in the village of Ras Kamboni along the coast near the border.[7]

Aftermath

[edit]

In August 2008, Al Shabaab retook the city during the Battle of Kismayo (2008).

In September 2012, the Somali National Army assisted by AMISOM troops and Raskamboni militia re-captured Kismayo from the insurgents in the Battle of Kismayo (2012).[8][9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Somalia's Islamists Resume Their Momentum and Embark on a Diplomatic Path Archived 2009-04-22 at the Wayback Machine PINR
  2. ^ Witnesses: Somali Islamists advance on key port Archived 2015-02-13 at the Wayback Machine. Associated Press, 13 September 2006
  3. ^ Gentleman, Jeffrey (2006-12-31). "Islamists, Cornered in Somalia, Lose Local Support". The New York Times. Retrieved 2002-01-02.
  4. ^ America’s Somali Policy Still Dangerously Adrift Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
  5. ^ Washington’s Self-Defeating Somalia Policy Archived 2007-01-08 at the Wayback Machine Matt Bryden
  6. ^ Rice, Xan (2006-01-02). "Somalia's Islamist fighters flee last urban base as pro-government alliance closes in". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2002-01-02.
  7. ^ Somalia disarmament starts, Kenya blocks Islamists Reuters
  8. ^ "Kenyan forces attack last remaining stronghold of al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia". Associated Press. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ Chonghaile, Clar Ni (28 September 2012). "Kenyan troops launch beach assault on Somali city of Kismayo". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2012.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Stig Jarle Hansen, Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamic Group 2005-12, Hurst & Co., 2013, 39-40.

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