Al-Shabaab battles Ahlu Sunna in Dhusamareb

March 20, 2012

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Al-Shabaab fighters temporarily seized the town of Dhusamareb at dawn on Tuesday (March 20th), after storming the town on pickup trucks mounted with machine guns, RBC Radio reported.

The al-Qaeda allied movement launched the attack to capture the town from the Somali Transitional Federal Government-allied Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamaa militia, which has won victories against al-Shabaab in central Somalia.

"The mujahedeen fighters stormed the district after attacking it from two directions early this morning, there was little fighting as the apostate militia fled the city," al-Shabaab commander Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim, told AFP. The group plans to advance into other districts in the central region, he said.

Dhusamareb is a strategic location as it controls a key road in the central Galgadud region.

Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamaa militia officials said they retook the town after receiving reinforcements and engaging al-Shabaab in a heavy battle that left many dead on both sides.

In Mogadishu, al-Shabaab fighters bombarded the area near the presidential palace with mortars overnight into Tuesday.

"Mortars were thrown in the area of the presidential palace again, but did not damage it, and security teams are working around the clock to end this threat," said African Union Mission in Somalia spokesperson Colonel Paddy Ankunda.

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  • محمد سيد
    March 21, 2012 @ 06:02:59AM

    Al-Shabab movement is certainly among terrorist movements, and this is not according to my point of view only, but from the standpoint of everyone and view of the state as well as it indicates that it is a movement of promoting violence, fighting, bombing and has no real policy can be discussed with the movement groups or to nominate themselves to the election or anything like that because it does not even have any political goals. A movement based on murder, discrimination, crimes and executions against civilians as it pleases. The Al-Shabab movement committed many crimes against the Somalis. Citizens are suffering there from what this movement and its criminal members are doing. They are launching many attacks, assassinations and bombings that affect all civilians, army or policemen; all this is done in the name of Islam. However, Islam never urges us to kill civilians and innocent people or Muslims in the name of Jihad. They act according to the principle of political violence and commit such crimes and claim that they are Islamic an organization or an Islamic jihadist movement.

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