SOMLALIA : government troops launched an offensive against Islamist insurgents in the Somali capital

A Ugandan soldier serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) crouches down during an advance with troops from the Somali National Army (SNA) to capture Mogadishu University in insurgent Al Shabaab territory in Mogadishu, in this handout photograph released by the United Nations-African Union Information Support Team to ******* January 20, 2012. African Union (AU) and government troops launched an offensive against Islamist insurgents in the Somali capital on Friday, seizing rebel bases beyond the city's limits for the first time, the AU force said.

Ugandan soldiers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) rest after an advance with the Somali National Army (SNA) to capture Mogadishu University in insurgent Al Shabaab territory in Mogadishu, in this handout photograph released by the United Nations-African Union Information Support Team to ******* January 20, 2012.


A Somali National Army (SNA) soldier points at an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) armoured personnel carrier during an advance into insurgent Al Shabaab territory in Mogadishu, in this handout photograph released by the United Nations-African Union Information Support Team to ******* January 20, 2012


Ugandan soldiers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) load defensive barriers onto a tank after an advance with the Somali National Army (SNA) to capture Mogadishu University in insurgent Al Shabaab territory in Mogadishu, in this handout photograph released by the United Nations-African Union Information Support Team to ******* January 20, 2012.


An African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) armoured personnel carrier is seen through a rifle hole of another during a firefight after an advance with the Somali National Army (SNA) to capture Mogadishu University in insurgent Al Shabaab territory in Mogadishu, in this handout photograph released by the United Nations-African Union Information Support Team to ******* January 20, 2012.


A Ugandan soldier, serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and troops from the Somali National Army (SNA) stand with their weapons in an open ground outside Mogadishu University after an advance into insurgent Al Shabaab territory in Mogadishu, in this handout photograph released by the United Nations-African Union Information Support Team to ******* January 20, 2012.


A Ugandan soldier serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) stands as a tank passes following an advance with the Somali National Army (SNA) to capture Mogadishu University in insurgent Al Shabaab territory, in this handout photo taken by the United Nations-African Union Information Support Team and released to ******* January 20, 2012.

Source: www.MP.net