Al-Shabaab takes control of village in central Somalia

Al-Shabaab has captured a village 95 kilometers east of the administrative of capital of Galmudug, Adaado, residents said on Monday.

Residents in Qaaib village said the fighters had taken over the control of the village without firing a single shot after Somali government forces vacated it.

A local resident who spoke to Goobjoog News on condition of anonymity said the Somali forces abandoned the village on Sunday afternoon in fear of possible Al-Shabaab attacks but shortly after their retreat heavily armed Al-Shabaab fighters came in and begun erecting their black flags in the town.

He said he saw masked Al- Shabaab fighters in the village as they were heading to the former Somali army military base.

Another resident, Aw Nuure said there was a panic in the village last night as residents were shocked by the sudden retreat of the Somali army but “luckily there was no single a shot”.

Al-Shabaab lost key strongholds in between 2012 and 2015 to the AU troops and Somali National army (SNA).

The capture of Qaaib village adds to a dozen other villages the militant group has wrested control following withdrawal of Somali and Amisom forces.