Somali National Army (SNA) troops, pictured in the middle of the night, prepare for a joint ground advance with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in an area southwest of Mogadishu.
The SNA advanced on foot with troops from both the Burundian and Ugandan contingents of AMISOM to a dense bush area south Elasha Biya, hitherto occupied by the Al Shabaab militant group.