Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, are making a comeback, having recently seized four towns and attacked a guesthouse in neighboring Kenya, killing 12. This was largely the work of the African Union force of 22,000 soldiers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti, which is supported by the U.N. Al-Shabab was reduced to roaming around Somalia's vast, arid scrubland, and staging deadly suicide bombing attacks in Mogadishu and other centers. In recent months there have been increases in attacks on hotels and also al-Shabab has directly attacked African Union bases. On Wednesday, Ethiopian troops withdrew from a fourth town, Tiyeglow, in the southwestern Bakool region, and al-Shabab retook it.

Source: Ethiopian News October 27, 2016 12:53 UTC