Al-Shabaab Recapture Diif Village
Al-Shabaab Fighters
Somalia's al-Shabaab insurgent group seized Diif village in Lower Juba region early on Sunday morning after small clashes between them and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) alongside pro-government clan militias of Ras Kamboni.
According to the residents of Diif, there was brief encounter between the two groups on Saturday night on the outskirts of the village which forced the allied forces to abandon Diif.
“Last night we heard the sound of bullets on the outskirts of the town, and in the morning we woke up to al-Shabaab’s black flags flying over the village and al-Shabaab fighters all over the town. Even we don’t know when they entered, they are patrolling the village. They talked with the elders and we don’t know what they discussed,” one of the residents told Somalia Report on condition of anonymity.
“We have information that Government forces that left the villages are less than 10 kilometers away and the people fear a regrouping and attack by TFG,” the source added.
One of the senior officials heading al-Shabab fighters who seized Diif, Sheikh Dulyadeyn spoke to the people in a public arena and told them to be calm.
“Calm down, no one will create problems for you. The enemies have gone and here are your brothers who are Muslims. We will govern you with the Islamic Sharia and we hope you will be satisfied with it,” he announced.
“We will not tolerate a Somali person working with the enemies. Whoever turns to the infidels’ side and supports them is not a Muslim. Our religion orders us to kill them. We shall not stop the war until we clean the enemies from our country, each and every one of you has to come out and defend his country and religion,” Dulyadey told the people.
Diif is a strategic village located five kilometers from the Kenyan border and connects many districts in Kenya and Lower Jubba region. The loss of this village is a huge setback for the TFG and the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF), who claim that they pushed the insurgents 100 kilometers from the border.
Meanwhile, Kenyan defense department on Saturday announced that their troops may pull out from Somalia in eight months after KDF joins African Union Peacekeepers (AMISOM) in Somalia.
“Since we were integrated into the African Union Mission in Somalia, we are going to operate within the AMISOM mandate which expires on October 31 this year. We expect to be there for as long as that mandate is running. The mandate aims at peace enforcement,” said Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna.
“From October 31st onwards, our presence will depend on the assessment of what will be prevailing on the ground at the time by the African Union Peace and Security Council. They may determine to extend the period or otherwise,” Oguna added.
The Kenyan forces entered Somalia in October last year when they declared war against al-Shabab and initiated a military invasion coined ‘Operation Linda Nchi’ meaning protect the nation.
