Al Shabaab mount arsenal on rooftops

By REUTERS

Somali militants mounted weapons on roofs, dug trenches and armed students in the port of Kismayu and warned Kenyan troops of dire consequences.

Earlier Kenya army had warned Somali civilians to stay away from Al Shabaab militant bases in ten towns to avoid being hurt during strikes.

"They have put their weapons over us. Every high house in the city is a defence for Al Shabaab," said Fatuma Ali, who lives next to the rebel base in Kismayu.

"Since Kenya mentioned the ten towns, Al Shabaab have been readying all their weapons and small arms," she added.

Kenya warned that it had received intelligence reports that consignments of weapons had reached the al-Qaeda linked militants in the town of Baidoa.

"They gave arms to people and they’re telling them to stay and defend the country from foreigners," said Ms Amina Mahmoud, a resident of Kismayu. "They said yesterday evening: Every one of you who dies here is a mujahid and will enter paradise," she added. Many Somalis were trying to flee after Kenya army warned them to leave but the militants have ordered them to stay and fight.

In other towns, residents said the rebels had quit their bases and were mixing with the population.

"Al Shabaab fighters are all over the town but they are no longer seen in groups. We see only four to five men in bases that were formerly crowded," Ms Halima Aden told Reuters from Baidoa. Residents feared the strikes would hit them too.

"I am sure Kenyan jets will fail to know who to bomb or not – the fighters have scattered," Mr Ahmed Nour in Baidoa said.

On Wednesday residents in the town of Afmadow said Al Shabaab had also ordered them to stay at home.

Afmadow is a strategic transit point for contraband smuggled through Kismayu port and is seen as a likely flashpoint for a confrontation between Kenyan forces and Al Shabaab.

Kenya and Somali government troops, in addition to militia allied to the Western-backed government, have set up forward positions close to Afmadow.