Community elders in Elwak on Wednesday performed rituals to curse al Shabaab militants who destroyed a communication mast in the area.
The militants destroyed the Hormuud communication mast on Sunday morning.
No one was killed in the attack.
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The elders conducted the ritual in the presence of the locals.
Persistent attacks by the terror group, which mostly retreats to Somalia after every strike, have stalled development in the area.
The locals supported the action of the clan elders saying they are determined to protect their economic livelihoods which are being threatened by the attacks.
Businessmen in the area also supported the move saying lack of communication in the area had caused them a lot of losses.
The locals claimed they are being targeted by the Al Qaeda-linked terror outfit because they refused to harbour them.
Al Shabaab claimed it targeted the communication masts because the locals were using them to pass information to security agents about their operations.
"We had no intentions to work with the security agents but at this rate Al Shabaab is forcing us to work with the government," a resident said.
Elwak and Lafey towns have borne the brunt of most of the al Shabaab attacks since they are soft targets due to their proximity to the border with Somalia.
In December last year, the militants also destroyed wells that had been sunk by the KDF to assist the area residents and their livestock.
Meanwhile, KDF conducted a medical camp in the Somalia town of Tabda. Hundreds of residents were privileged to get free treatment from KDF doctors.
The medical camps will continue across various towns in Somalia and along the border towns.
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