Bakol Governor Mohamed Abdi Tall said senior al-Shabaab leader Mukhtar Robow Ali contacted officials in the region and is now “in talks” with the government, Somalia’s Garowe Online reported Saturday (July 6th).
“We have agreed to fight al-Shabaab led by [top commander] Ahmed Abdi Godane,” Tall said.
Robow and other senior al-Shabaab leaders, including Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who was recently jailed in Mogadishu, have been involved in an escalating internal power struggle with Godane.
Last month, fighters loyal to Godane attacked members of a rival al-Shabaab faction in Barawe, Following the battle that left a number of militants dead on either side, Godane loyalists reportedly executed al-Shabaab co-founder Ibrahim al-Afghani.
Also in the Bakol region, seven people were killed during a battle between Somali government forces and members of al-Shabaab.
Bakol Governor Mohamed Abdi Tall said government forces initiated the attack on an al-Shabaab-controlled area between the Hudur and Wajid districts.
“The fighting lasted for two hours and three al-Shabaab members were killed,” Tall said, confirming a number of government force casualties.
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