African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) combat engineers and Somali workers grade and repair a stretch of road 24 January 2013, leading to the town of Afgooye in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region along the main route linking the fertile, agricultural region with the capital Mogadishu. After years under the control of the violent extremist Al-Qaeda linked group Al Shabaab, stretches of the economically important thoroughfare were virtually in-passable. Now, 7 months after the Shabaab were forced to flee following Operation Free Shabelle in which the Somali National Army supported by AMISOM forces liberated the Afgooye Corridor, the engineers have begun repairing the 4.5km stretch of road to increase ease and flow of traffic carrying people and produce to and from Mogadishu. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE.