Al-Shabaab, Militia Clash Near Ethiopia Border
At least seven people were killed and ten others injured when militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab attacked bases of the Shabelle Valley militia in the village of Kala Beyr, near the border with Ethiopia, residents said.
Four al-Shabaab fighters, two Shabelle Valley forces and one civilian were amongst the dead, locals said.
Residents of Kala Beyr who asked for anonymity told Somalia Report that al-Shabaab was pushed back after launching the attack on Sunday.
“There was fierce fighting taking place in the village, we saw al-Shabaab fighters Sunday afternoon, they are not here now,” said one resident.
However, an al-Shabaab spokesman who talked to a local radio station in Beledweyne said the insurgent forces withdrew of their own accord.
“We attacked the bases of infidels and their allies, our brave soldiers have inflicted a heavy damage on them,” he said. “We have retreated from the village for military tactics, but our forces are ready to wipe the infidels and their stooges from our land.”
Other reports indicate that Ethiopian forces were spotted in the fighting.
“Reliable sources told me there were Ethiopian forces fighting alongside with Shabelle Valley fighters, the number of Ethiopian forces is not yet known,” Ilyas Ahmed, a journalist in Beledweyne, told Somalia Report.
Forces from Ethiopia, whose two-year occupation of Somalia sparked the al-Shabaab insurgency, are often accused of crossing the border to conduct operations.
No Ethiopian official was available to comment.
Residents outside Mogadishu are bracing themselves for more violence after al-Shabaab withdrew its forces from the capital.
“People I talked to told me they fear the worst and believe the group will have their attentions turned to the other regions to show off that they are still a force to reckon,” Ilyas said.
Fighting between al-Shabaab and Shabelle Valley militia was also reported to have occurred in Jawil village, a few kilometers away Kala Beyr, but casualties are not yet known.
