It came after the Islamic Courts Union's forces faltered and fled in the Battle of Jilib, abandoning their final stronghold.

The city of Kismayo had been the capital of the autonomous state of Jubaland under the administration of the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) since the late 1990s.

The JVA suffered the loss of Kismayo in September 2006 to an array of ICU forces with 130 technicals.

According to the New York Times, when the Battle of Jilib began on December 31, 2006, clan elders within Kismayo demanded the ICU leave the city.

The Battle of Jilib saw the ICU frontlines collapse during the night to artillery fire, causing the ICU hardliners, known as Al-Shabaab (literally "The Youths" or "Young Men"[4][5]), to once again go into retreat, this time towards the Kenyan border.