Somalia: Civilians fleeing town after missile attacks

 In the southern Somali town of Afgoye citizens are fleeing after missile strikes. The target of the strikes were apparently buildings thought to be used by the militant al-Shabaab group who control much of the area. A warship off the coast fired the missiles. Kenya has invaded the area near Afgoye but the ships probably belong to either France or the U.S.
  Both countries have backed the Kenyan invasion. Kenya invaded southern Somalia back in October. A Kenyan military spokesperson said that possibly the U.S. or France were behind recent airstrikes. The spokesperson also said that the French navy had shelled rebel positions.
   The U.S. previously conducted what it calls surgical strikes against al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia. In 2006 and 2007 the U.S. co-operated with Ethiopian forces who fought with al-Shabaab as well. Rather than intervene with boots on the ground the U.S. prefers to use proxy forces to battle al-Shabaab rebels who are considered by the U.S. to be terrorists linked to Al Qaeda. For more see this article, also here.