...
the personification of Somali state failure...group and clan militias in the country's central semi-autonomous region of Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
, residents and the group told Rooters on Thursday.
Somali state-run Radio Muqdisho reported on its website on Thursday that the fighting in the Haradheere area, which started on Wednesday, had been triggered by alleged al-Shabaab conscription of teenagers into their ranks.
Al-Shabaab has controlled the port district for years but has repeatedly clashed with local clan militias over a range of disputes.
"Al-Shabaab asked for teenagers to be recruited," the radio reported. A tax called zakat being imposed by al-Shabaab had also stoked anger among the residents and militias, it added.
Residents in the area told Rooters a total of nine militia members and al-Shabaab fighters had been killed in the fighting.
"We attacked al-Shabaab and ... then, al-Shabaab got many gunnies as reinforcement from various regions. We fought and fought till we ran out of bullets," a local elder, Farah Ahmed, told Rooters by phone from the Haradheere area on Thursday.
Somalia has been convulsed by lawlessness and violence since 1991 when dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was toppled.
Al-Shabaab is fighting to dislodge the western-backed central government and African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
-mandated peace-keeping force AMISOM which, defends it, and install its own government based on its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabaab’s military operations front man told Rooters they had fought the militias because they were armed by neighbouring Æthiopia. They had killed 15 members of the militias, he said.
"Æthiopia wants Hobyo port and so it is using clan militias to capture the road to Hobyo port town," he said.
Hobyo port is about 260 kilometers northeast of Haradheere. Musab said al-Shabaab had taken all weapons from the militias during the attack.