Somalia: 35 dead in fighting between government and Islamists Animals in Ukraine: “If the shelling starts, they will be left behind”

At least 35 people have been killed in heavy fighting between the Islamist terror group Al-Shabaab and regional paramilitary forces in Somalia. Fighting lasted for hours on Wednesday near the village of Shabelow in central Somalia’s Mudug province, according to a commander of the regional security forces. More than 25 Islamist fighters and ten government troops were killed. Al-Shabaab claimed through its own channels that it had killed dozens of government soldiers.

Somalia’s Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf told the German news agency that the Islamists had suffered heavy losses. “Al-Shabaab is losing more territory every day,” he said. “Their presence in the Somali state of Galmudug is almost disappearing.”

For about a year now, the Somali army, with the help of local clan militias, has been carrying out a major offensive against Al-Shabaab fighters, who have been terrorizing the country in the Horn of Africa for years. Since then, the group has lost large parts of its territory in the center of the country. Al-Shabaab still controls large areas, especially in the south. (sda/dpa)