Over ten people killed in fighting in central Somalia

Over ten combatants have been killed and several others wounded in gun battle between locals and Al-Shabaab fighters in remote areas near Haradhere town in central Somalia, officials and witness said.

A resident in Harardhere town, who identified himself as Farhan said the local militia confronted with Al-Shabaab after the group imposed heavy tax on the locals.

“Al-Shabaab asked the locals to pay heavy tax and that prompted heavy fighting between the group and the fighters, the clashes left the death of ten people including local fighters and Al-Shabaab,” said Farhan.

Deputy President of Galmudug State, Mohamed Hashi Abdi told reporters that their administration supports residents in the fight against Al-Shabaab which has inflicted heavy casualties on the insurgents.

“The battle took place at Dumaya and Dabagalo locations near Harardhere town in Mudug region, angry locals fought off militants there and killed seven fighters and injured several others. They recovered weapons, we support the residents to fight the group and defend their properties from the enemy,” said Abdi.

The deputy president said the fighting erupted after the militants forced the residents to contribute tax every month, a directive the locals declined.

“We commend the locals for their victory against terrorists, we are ready to support them in order to defend themselves and properties from Al-Shabaab,” Abdi said.

Al-Shabaab has been driven out of major strongholds in Somalia in recent years in a joint offensive by AMISOM and local forces, but is still believed to have between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters who regularly launch guerrilla-style assaults and bomb attacks.

Al-Shabaab is an offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which splintered into several smaller factions after its defeat in 2006 by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the TFG’s Ethiopian military allies.

The group describes itself as waging jihad against “enemies of Islam”, and is engaged in combat against the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM).