Heavily armed Al-Shabaab militants launched a fierce assault on a strategic island in southern Somalia on Wednesday, engaging in intense clashes with state paramilitary forces stationed in the semi-autonomous Jubaland region. The confrontation highlights the ongoing insurgency led by the Al-Qaeda-linked group, which has been entrenched in conflict against the Somali government for nearly two decades.
According to the Jubaland administration, the militants attempted to overrun the island of Kuday, which has previously served as a key operational base for Al-Shabaab. While Jubaland officials asserted that they repelled the attack, the militant group countered by claiming it had successfully seized control of a military installation on the island, as well as several other bases in the area.
A traditional elder from Kismayo relayed information indicating that the militants had besieged Kuday after storming a military base on the outskirts of the town. The elder, however, emphasized the difficulty in verifying the situation on the ground due to communication breakdowns; the telephone network on the island reportedly collapsed shortly after the Jubaland forces dispatched a distress signal.
In a statement, the Jubaland administration claimed that its security forces inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers, destroying multiple military vehicles used during the assault. Meanwhile, Al-Shabaab maintained that its fighters had taken over three military bases both on the island and its periphery.
Kuday Island, situated approximately 130 kilometers southwest of Kismayo, was liberated from Al-Shabaab control in early 2015 by a coalition consisting of the Kenyan Defence Forces and the Somali National Army. Since then, the island has remained a focal point in the ongoing struggle between Somali forces and militant groups operating in the region.
