Al-Shabab infighting leads to the deaths of several militants in Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Mogadishu (Caasimada Online) – Several militants have been reported dead and several others injured in a fight that broke out between members of Al-Shabab, a militant group based in Somalia, on Saturday.

The clashes near the town of Harardhere in the Mudug region in central Somalia reportedly began when members of Al-Shabab attempted to escape and surrender to the government forces based in southern Mudug.

According to the Somali News Agency (SONNA), citing local sources, the battle took place in the Dabagalo area in the town of Harardhere after Al-Shabab fighters attacked a group attempting to escape.

The battle, which lasted for about an hour, is believed to have resulted in the deaths of at least seven militants from both sides, according to sources.

Al-Shabab, which means “The Youth” in Arabic, is a militant group operating in Somalia and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States. It was founded in 2006 and is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

The group seeks to establish a strict form of Islamic law in Somalia and has been involved in a long-running insurgency against the Somali government.

In recent years, there have been reports of infighting within Al-Shabab, with some members seeking to break away from the group and surrender to the government.

This has been attributed to several factors, including the group’s increasingly violent tactics and failure to achieve its goals.

There have also been reports of divisions within Al-Shabab over the direction of the group and its leadership.

In 2017, the group faced internal divisions over its leadership, with some members seeking to break away from the group and surrender to the government. This led to a series of clashes between rival factions within the group.

In 2018, there were reports of infighting within Al-Shabab over the group’s direction and tactics. Some members were reportedly dissatisfied with the group’s increasingly violent tactics, which have included suicide bombings and attacks on civilians, and sought to distance themselves from the group.

In recent years, there have been several high-profile defections from Al-Shabab, including that of Mukhtar Robow, a former deputy leader of the group who defected to the Somali government in 2017 and became the minister of religious affairs in June 2022.

Robow’s defection was seen as a significant blow to Al-Shabab and demonstrated the internal divisions within the group.

The battle in the Mudug region on Saturday is another sign of these internal divisions.

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