Al-Shabaab commanders arrested in Somalia as Farmajo meets security

A number of top Al-Shabaab commanders were arrested in Central Somalia on Sunday, officials said, in what could be a major milestone in the fight against the al-Qaeda-linked group that is wreaking havoc in central and southern Somalia.

Galmudug’s security minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi and Mudug governor Abdiladif Muse Nur jointly said security forces in the two states had arrested senior Al-Shabaab members, but did not reveal their details.

In recent months, Mudug has been heavily influenced by the Al-Shabaab war, in which militants target older members of security forces, officials and, to some extent, innocent civilians. A number of people have been killed.

According to officials, the arrested security chiefs of Al-Shabaab in the Mudug region, finance chiefs of Al-Shabaab in the Mudug region and other officials in the movement. The team is now being processed for trial, officials added.

On Sunday, Farmajo received a briefing from SNA and AMISOM chiefs about Al-Shabab attacks on the army’s forward bases in Awdhegle and Barire, Lower Shaballe on April 3, which killed dozens of soldiers. This comes as the outgoing leader faces pressure over his illegal term.

Source: Axadle Times