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Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) will increase security around Mogadishu, as al-Shabaab threatened to increase attacks in the city, Somalia's Shabelle News Network reported on Sunday (February 26th).

Ali Ahmed Gure, acting governor of the Banadir region, said the TFG will increase police presence to protect hundreds of displaced people returning to their homes in areas where al-Shabaab fighters have been pushed out.

Gure's announcement followed a statement by al-Shabaab spokesperson Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage on Sunday to militant-controlled radio in Elasha Biyaha that the militia would extend al-Qaeda's reach in Somalia.

"The jihad will be redoubled in Somalia as whole to overthrow TFG and its regional administrations," Rage said, according to the Shabelle Media Network.

Rage also accepted the Puntland-based Galgala militia's pledge on Saturday of loyalty to al-Shabaab. Rage said the merger will strengthen the weight of the group, Somalia's Garowe Online reported. Puntland Governor Ahmed Omar Hersi told the BBC that the merger was not news, as "the groups [had been] working together for quite some time".