# Fall of Kismayo
> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fall_of_Kismayo
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fall_of_Kismayo.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Kismayo
> Source revision: 1308635095
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Fall of Kismayo
| partof = the [War in Somalia (2006–2009)](/source/War_in_Somalia_(2006%E2%80%932009))
| date = January 1, 2007
| image =
| place = [Kismayo](/source/Kismayo), [Somalia](/source/Somalia)
| caption =
| result = Ethiopian/TFG victory
*Government forces take control of Kismayo
| combatant1 = 22px [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia)
22px [TFG](/source/Transitional_Federal_Government)
| combatant2 = 22px [Islamic Courts Union](/source/Islamic_Courts_Union)
| commander1 = 22px [Gabre Heard](/source/Gabre_Heard)
| commander2 = 22px [Sharif Sheik Ahmed](/source/Sharif_Sheik_Ahmed)
}}
{{Campaignbox War in Somalia (2006–2009)}}
The '''fall of Kismayo''' occurred on January 1, 2007, [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia)n military forces backing the [Transitional Federal Government](/source/Transitional_Federal_Government_of_Somalia) entered the [Somali](/source/Somalia) city of [Kismayo](/source/Kismayo) unopposed. It came after the [Islamic Courts Union](/source/Islamic_Courts_Union)'s forces faltered and fled in the [Battle of Jilib](/source/Battle_of_Jilib).
== Background ==
The city of Kismayo had been the capital of the autonomous state of [Jubaland](/source/Jubaland) under the administration of the [Juba Valley Alliance](/source/Juba_Valley_Alliance) (JVA) since the late 1990s. The JVA suffered the loss of Kismayo in September 2006 to an array of ICU forces with 130 [technical](/source/Technical_(fighting_vehicle))s.[[http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_printable&report_id=560&language_id=1 Somalia's Islamists Resume Their Momentum and Embark on a Diplomatic Path] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422191900/http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_printable&report_id=560&language_id=1 |date=2009-04-22 }} PINR][[http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283959 Witnesses: Somali Islamists advance on key port] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213204127/http://mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283959 |date=2015-02-13 }}. ''[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press)'', 13 September 2006]
==Course of events==
In December 2006, after the [Fall of Mogadishu](/source/Fall_of_Mogadishu), much of the [Islamists](/source/Islamism) began a retreat towards [Kismayo](/source/Kismayo). According to the ''New York Times'', when the [Battle of Jilib](/source/Battle_of_Jilib) began on December 31, 2006, clan elders within Kismayo demanded the ICU leave the city. Mohammed Arab, a clan leader said "We told them that they were going to lose, and that our city would get destroyed."[{{cite news
| last =Gentleman
| first =Jeffrey
| title =Islamists, Cornered in Somalia, Lose Local Support
| work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)
| date = 2006-12-31
| url =https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/world/africa/31cnd-somalia.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1167627600&en=0f985fc2206a870b&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin
| accessdate = 2002-01-02 }}] After the ICU refused, sporadic gun battles broke out between the local clans and the ICU.
The Battle of Jilib saw the ICU frontlines collapse during the night to artillery fire, causing the ICU hardliners, known as ''[Al-Shabaab](/source/Al-Shabaab_(Somalia))'' (literally "The Youths" or "Young Men"[[http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/global.php?id=255547 America’s Somali Policy Still Dangerously Adrift] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234315/http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/global.php?id=255547 |date=2007-09-27 }} The Family Security Foundation, Inc.][[http://forums.csis.org/africa/?p=18 Washington’s Self-Defeating Somalia Policy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108162806/http://forums.csis.org/africa/?p=18 |date=2007-01-08 }} Matt Bryden]), to once again go into retreat, this time towards the Kenyan border. TFG and Ethiopian forces entered the town on January 1, 2007.[{{cite news
| last=Rice
| first=Xan
| title =Somalia's Islamist fighters flee last urban base as pro-government alliance closes in
| publisher =[Guardian Unlimited](/source/Guardian_Unlimited)
| date = 2006-01-02
| url =https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,,1981021,00.html
| accessdate = 2002-01-02}}]
With the Kenyan border blocked, the ICU remnants were described as holding up in Badhadhe district, either in the hills of the [Buur Gaabo](/source/Buur_Gaabo) area, or in the village of [Ras Kamboni](/source/Ras_Kamboni) along the coast near the border.[[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02903953.htm Somalia disarmament starts, Kenya blocks Islamists] Reuters]
== Aftermath ==
In August 2008, [Al Shabaab](/source/Al-Shabaab_(militant_group)) retook the city during the [Battle of Kismayo (2008)](/source/Battle_of_Kismayo_(2008)).
In September 2012, the [Somali National Army](/source/Military_of_Somalia) assisted by [AMISOM](/source/AMISOM) troops and [Raskamboni](/source/Raskamboni_movement) militia re-captured Kismayo from the insurgents in the [Battle of Kismayo (2012)](/source/Battle_of_Kismayo_(2012)).[{{cite news|title=Kenyan forces attack last remaining stronghold of al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/kenyan-forces-attack-last-remaining-stronghold-of-al-qaida-linked-militants-in-somalia/2012/09/28/c6905994-0937-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html|accessdate=28 September 2012|newspaper=Associated Press|date=28 September 2012}}{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}][{{cite news|last=Chonghaile|first=Clar Ni|title=Kenyan troops launch beach assault on Somali city of Kismayo|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/28/kenyan-soldiers-capture-kismayo-somalia|accessdate=28 September 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=28 September 2012}}]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==Further reading==
* [Stig Jarle Hansen](/source/Stig_Jarle_Hansen), Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamic Group 2005-12, Hurst & Co., 2013, 39-40.
{{coord missing|Somalia}}
{{War in Somalia (2006–09)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kismayo 2007}}
Category:January 2007 in Somalia
Category:Battles of the War in Somalia (2006–2009)
Category:Battles of the Somali Civil War involving Ethiopia
Category:Battles involving the Islamic Courts Union
Category:Battles in 2007
Category:City captures
Category:Battles in Kismayo
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fall of Kismayo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Kismayo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Kismayo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.