And believe me, they had allot of weapons and landmines
Police Arrest Five Al-Shabaab Suspects
Police have arrested five young men suspected of being al-Shabaab fighters in a sweep of Bakara Market, a former insurgent stronghold abandoned on Saturday when the militant group left Mogadishu.
According to Colonel Ahmed Hassan Malin, the head of Banadir police, the five were custodians of 100 mortars, landmine cables and ignition devices, which were to be used to create explosive devices.
“It is evident that al-Shabaab was planning deadly attacks against the civilian population, but rest assured that the situation will normalize soon as the police continue to search Bakara Market,” Malin said.
The youths, aged between 15 and 24, are in custody pending the outcome of investigations, he said.
Bakara Market has been closed temporarily as security forces conduct a sweep for remaining al-Shabaab fighters and booby traps. Similar operations are going on across the city, as the military and African Union peacekeepers take over positions abandoned by al-Shabaab, occasionally coming up against pockets of fighters left behind to spring surprise attacks.
Al-Shabaab has vowed to switch to urban guerrilla tactics after pulling out of the city, and there are concerns that the few attacks seen so far this week will expand into regular ambushes and bombings.
General Said Adan Said, the deputy police commissioner, said any Bakara Market traders found with weapons or explosives would face action.
“The police’s main task is to guarantee the safety and well-being of the Somali businessmen, as well as their goods, but the traders need to participate actively in the security operations and need to welcome our forces,” he told Somalia Report.
Said said that dozens of AK47s and hundreds of small arms that were being used by al-Shabaab before the withdrawal had been found.
Bakara Market is now under police control after the military were found to be looting from traders. This week alone has seen close to twenty soldiers sentenced to death or life imprisonment after being found guilty of looting and other crimes.