Battle of Jilib ( 2006 ) The Battle of Jilib was a battle in the 2006 Somali War fought by the Islamic Courts Union ( ICU ) and affiliated militias against Ethiopia n and Transitional Federal Government ( TFG ) forces for control of the town of Jilib . It began on 31 December 2006 , when ICU forces dug in and defended the town to prevent approach to Kismayo , the last stronghold of the ICU . Background . After the Fall of Mogadishu , roughly 3 , 000 ICU fighters were said to have fled towards the port city of Kismayo , their last remaining stronghold , 300 miles ( 500 km ) to the south . In Kismayo , executive leader of the ICU , Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was defiant , " We will not run away from our enemies . We will never depart from Somalia . We will stay in our homeland . " In Jilib , the Islamists used bulldozers to prepare trenches and defensive positions . They had about 3 , 000 fighters and 60 technicals mounted with antiaircraft and antitank guns . Up to 4 , 700 people fled the area ahead of the fighting . On Saturday , 30 December , joint Ethiopian / TFG troops had reached the town of Jilib , the last major town on the road to Kismayo . Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed urged the ICU soldiers to fight on . Battle . On Sunday , 31 December , fighting began in the thick mango forests near Helashid , 11 miles ( 18 km ) to the northwest of Jilib . Ethiopian MiG fighters , tanks , artillery and mortars struck Islamic positions in the assault . Residents reported the road to Jilib was littered with remote - controlled landmine s by the ICU . TFG and Ethiopian forces also attacked Bulobaley , with mortars and rockets . At approximately 5 : 00 p . m . , a heavy gun battle erupted on the outskirts of Jilib town between Islamic fighters and the Ethiopian - backed interim government troops . Tanks and armored vehicles were reported committed by Ethiopian forces . The sound of heavy artillery fire could be heard in Jamame town near Jilib , local residents said . Islamist commander Sheikh Yusuf Hassan said " The fighting has started . There are heavy losses on both sides , " and added that they " are not going to surrender . We will fight to defend Jilib and Kismayo until we die . " Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs , Ismail Mohammed Hurreh Buba ( also spelled Esmael Mohamud Hurreh ) declared fighting was going well for the government , and the battles around Kismayo might take another two days . He asked for Somalia ' s coast to be watched for " dhow s " , small boats which might come and try to rescue or reinforce the Islamists in Kismayo . The United States Fifth Fleet ' s maritime task force based out of Djibouti , was patrolling off the Somali coast to prevent ICU fighters from launching an " attack or to transport personnel , weapons or other material , " said Commander Kevin Aandahl . During the night , artillery strikes continued , eventually forcing the ICU frontlines to falter . A mutiny within the ICU caused their forces to disintegrate , and abandon both Jilib and Kismayo . At 10 p . m . , the sounds of battle died down . By midnight , the ICU front in Jilib had collapsed , and the ICU began to flee . By 2 : 00 a . m . , they had fled from Kismayo . Local militiamen patrolled the streets , and looting began of former ICU property . They were reported to be fleeing towards Ras Kamboni island in southern Somalia , or the Kenyan border . As a result , the transitional government requested that Kenya seal its border with Somalia . According to the BBC , Kenyan armored vehicles appeared heading toward the border , though the government made no formal statements . Aftermath . With the ICU in a retreat for the Kenyan border , Transitional Federal Government forces slowly advanced towards Kismayo to avoid the many landmines that had been placed . By 1 January 2007 , they had reached Kismayo , which was taken without a fight . Thereafter , operations moved towards securing the borders with Kenya in the provinces of Afmadow and Badhadhe in the Lower Juba region . Ethiopian aircraft and attack helicopters struck the town of Doble ( Dhoobley ) in Afmadow province , not far from the Kenyan border . The strikes were presumably to hit ICU elements attempting to cross the border . Fighting tailed off after midnight . On 4 January , reports said ICU troops were split across Afmadow and Badade districts , and possibly concentrated at the former Al - Ittihad Al - Islamiya ( AIAI ) stronghold of Ras Kamboni . TFG and Ethiopian forces reported taking district capital Afmadow ( 2 January ) , and Dhobley along the Kenyan border ( 3 January ) , and were presently en route to Badade , the district capital just north of Ras Kamboni .