Drivers in Lower Shabelle region complain of increasing roadblock

The drivers and the owners of vehicles that work in Lower Shabelle region especially the road linking Marerey and Afgoye towns complain of an increased number of roadblocks set by armed men in Somali national Army (SNA) uniform.

Some of the drivers operating the road connecting between the two towns told Goobjoog News that they always spend a lot of money on illegal roadblocks to save their lives.

A driver who decline his name said “They order us to pay unaffordable amount of Money and we to have pay it in order to save our passengers and their properties, failure to pay that amount they rob us and go away everything we have”

Another driver said that they are forced to pay large amounts of money they cannot afford by men dressed in military uniform.

“We have lots of problem with these illegal checkpoints in Lower Shabelle region because we cannot afford the amount of money we are forced to pay,” he said.

The driver also stated that they have filed their complains to Lower Shabelle administration but the administration failed to give immediate response.

The drivers called the federal government to take immediate action of removing the illegal checkpoints in the region.

Mareeray district officer told Goobjoog news that they cannot flush these armed men out due lack of enough soldiers.

He point out that they once tried discuss the issue with Afgooye administration but in vain only to wetness the augment of the blockades.

The federal government carried out several operations to remove the illegal roadblocks set by the men dressed in military uniform but no change was sofar felt according the owners and the drivers.