Hiiraan Online
Tuesday March 15, 2016
BOSSASO (HOL) – Security forces in Puntland sami-autonomous state are massing for a major battle to recapture a small port town seized by the Al-Qaeda linked Al Shabab group on Monday, officials said Tuesday.
The capture of Garacad, a former piracy hub is seen as an attempt by the militant group to expand areas under their control at a time it faces a military pressure by allied Somali and African Union forces that ousted its fighters from most of their key strongholds in the south and central Somalia.
The loss of the town had also opened another military front against Puntland which is already fighting another Al Shabab group in the mountainous remote town of Galgala.
Puntland officials said that heavily armed militants in boats arrived in the town and erected checkpoints in the area, leaving hundreds of residents to flee.
The northern Somalia region had remained stable during over decades old conflict in Somalia which largely engulfed large parts in the south and central Somalia.
The surprise attack on Garacad had left Puntland authorities scramble to mobilize its forces to recapture the town in central Somalia’s Mudug region.
Militants have cut off the town’s communication lines, making it difficult for journalists to get accurate information about the current situation of the town.
Al Shabab hasn’t yet commented on the development, however, local officials have earlier said that the militant group was sending fighters to the region where security forces have succeeded in neutralizing another Al Shabab group which despite fighting troops failed to expand their areas of control.