Overnight residents of Dinsor town, previously an Al-Shabaab stronghold in the Bay region of Somalia, witnessed the retreat of Al-Shabaab forces in the face of a joint Somali-Ethiopian military advance.

Dinsor, held by Al-Shabaab for the last four years, fell to the advancing government and allied forces as part of the Somali government's initiative to restore peace and security throughout the Gedo, Bay and Bakool regions. Dinsor lies on the road from Baidoa to Bardheere and then down the Juba River valley to Sakow, Buaale, Jilib and to Kismayo.

AL-Shabaab were driven out of Kismayo by Somali Government Forces, the allied Ras Kamboni militia and the Kenyan forces of AMISOM at the end of September. The fall of Dinsor adds to a long string of defeats for Al-Shabaab who have recently suffered a whole series of successive military setbacks.