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| Somali militants capture key town | Somali militants capture key town |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Hardline Islamist militants have captured a strategically important town north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, eyewitnesses say. | Hardline Islamist militants have captured a strategically important town north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, eyewitnesses say. |
| Members of al-Shabab, a group fighting government forces in Somalia, seized the town of Jowhar on Sunday morning. | |
| One resident told Reuters that there had been "serious fighting" in which at least seven people had been killed. | One resident told Reuters that there had been "serious fighting" in which at least seven people had been killed. |
| Jowhar was in 2005 chosen as the temporary location for the country's transitional government. | Jowhar was in 2005 chosen as the temporary location for the country's transitional government. |
| The Somali government has been losing ground in recent weeks and now controls little more than the centre of the capital, with the support of African Union troops. | The Somali government has been losing ground in recent weeks and now controls little more than the centre of the capital, with the support of African Union troops. |
| On 15 May, Somalia's president appealed to Islamist insurgents to negotiate as intermittent fighting continued in Mogadishu. | On 15 May, Somalia's president appealed to Islamist insurgents to negotiate as intermittent fighting continued in Mogadishu. |
| Describing the clashes in Jowhar, town elder Ali Moalim Hassan told news agency AFP that "the other Islamist militia backing the government deserted their positions" - ceding control of the town to al-Shabab. | |
| Al-Shabab is believed to have attacked Jowhar on Sunday morning on two fronts. After entering the town, militants took over the jail and released prisoners. | |
| The government is thought to be attempting to bring in reinforcements to retake the area. | |
| Jowhar is the home town of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed - and now that the country's rainy season has arrived, the town is also the only passable route into central Somalia from the capital. |