Al-Shabaab fighters take control of Gurael

At least 13 people have been killed and many others injured as Al-Shabaab fighters seized a central Somali trading town.

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Al-Shabaab fighters took control of Gurael - 370 km (230 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu - following three days of bitter battles with a government-allied group in the area, locals said.

The fighting broke out after al-Shabaab fighters arrested a local religious teacher of that group.

"I have counted 10 dead men myself. Six died yesterday and four were lying in the paths of the deserted town this morning. It is now under control of al-Shabaab," one local resident, Ali Aden, told Reuters by telephone from the area.

Meanwhile, more than 5,000 Gurael residents fled to the protection of nearby woods.

The capture of Gurael adds to the growing hold that al-Shabaab fighters have gained across south and central Somalia in a two-year insurgency against government and rebel forces.

This is while al-Shabaab forces also took over the two central Somali towns of Mataban and Dhusamareeb on Sunday.

Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991 when warlords toppled the former dictator president Mohammed Siad Barre. Ever since, the Horn of Africa country has been awash with insurgency.
As Reported on PressTv
MP/SME/MMA