Al-Shabaab overruns Somali village without resistance, army prepares to respond

Aya Ezz

Somalia is currently witnessing a major expansion of the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement. According to the Mogadishu Research Center for Political and Strategic Studies, the terrorist movement recently took control of a town located 60 km east of the city of Cadaado in the Galguduud region of Galmudug State in central Somalia.

The center quoted local residents as saying that Al-Shabaab entered the town from multiple sides in anticipation of any armed resistance and then declared taking full control of the area.

The militias did not face any resistance from the people of the region, who did not possess weapons and did not expect to be dominated by the terrorist group.

The Somali authorities have not commented on the armed expansion of terrorists in parts of the country’s center, but on the security and military levels, they are waging a widespread campaign against Al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda.

Qatari funding

Mohamed Ezz El-Din, a researcher specializing in African affairs, told the Reference that Al-Shabaab receives huge amounts of Qatari funds to carry out the largest possible number of terrorist operations in Somalia in order to spread chaos, allowing Qatar to achieve its nefarious interests. This means that the terrorist movement has presently become more violent.

Ezz El-Din confirmed that Al-Shabab was recently able to develop itself militarily, having bought large quantities of weapons and equipment thanks to the Qatari funding.

He pointed out that a large number of Al-Shabaab elements had previously defected from the movement and declared their allegiance to ISIS, after which they became more brutal.

The researcher also confirmed that the movement seeks revenge against the Somali government and army, after Somali army forces executed seven members of the movement in the Gedo region of southwestern Somalia in early January 2019 after they confessed to killing 14 people in the city of Bardere.

Ezz El-Din added that Al-Shabaab is also escalating its operations currently, with the aim of sending a strong warning to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), along with the rest of the African countries, until they withdraw from Somalia and do not send any new forces.

Military movements

In a related context, the Somali army began military movements on Sunday, September 6 in cooperation with a civilian force against Al-Shabaab near the city of Galkayo in the Mudug region in north-central Somalia.

Government media reported that the army’s elite Danab Brigade and the armed civilian resistance are making strenuous efforts to liberate villages and towns from Al-Shabaab militants in an effort to hunt down terrorist remnants in the Mudug region, which is adjacent to the Galguduud region in Galmudug State.

Meanwhile, to the south, the Danab Brigade arrested Al-Shabaab elements during a military operation in the town of Lego in the Lower Shabelle region.

The army confirmed that terrorists were engaged in terrorist acts to harm civilians. It also pledged to continue military and security operations in pursuit of terrorist remnants across the country.