Kenya’s army claimed on Friday to have entered Kismayo, the Somali port city considered to be al-Shabaab’s last major bastion.

The rebels and city residents, however, said the troops were still on the outskirts of the city that the army has been targeting for days.

"It was a joint operation both on air and ground, we finally entered Kismayo at 2:00 am [2300 GMT Thursday]," said Kenyan army spokesman Cyrus Oguna.

"We cannot give casualty figures at the moment, the damage has not been assessed, but I can tell you our forces are already in Kismayo," Oguna told AFP.

Al-Shebab reports otherwise
An al-Shabaab commander in Kismayo, however, denied that soldiers had entered the city.

"The enemy using military boats have deployed hundreds of soldiers on the coast late last night and the mujahedeen fighters are engaging in heavy fighting with them now," said Sheik Mohamed Abu Fatuma.

"They are not very close to the city because the coast where they are now is around nine kilometres from downtown," he said.

And several Kismayo residents also said the Kenyan forces were still on the beach, where they came ashore from two ships around five kilometres from the city centre.

"The city itself is still under control of the Shabaab. Radio Andalus is operating and calling on people to join the jihad and overthrow the invaders," one of the residents Abdulahi Yakub told AFP.

Kismayo
Kismayo is the last stronghold of al-Shabaab, who have lost most of their other strongholds to the 17,000-strong African Union force – of which Kenya is a part – as well as allied Ethiopian forces.

Kenyan forces have been targeting the port for days and on Tuesday fighter jets bombarded the city's airport.

Source: AFP