Somali
al
Shabaab
fighters have seized a small port in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, the latest sign of a resurgence in activity by the militants in the Horn of Africa nation.
A series of offensives last year by the African Union force Amisom and the Somali National
Army had driven
al
Shabaab
out of major strongholds in the southern region of Somalia.
At the time, officials said some
al
Shabaab
fighters had moved north to the Puntland region, beyond Amisom's area of operation. In recent weeks,
al
Shabaab
has
also retaken smaller towns and launched deadly attacks in the southern region.
"Al
Shabaab
fighters with several
boats captured Garad town," Hassan Mohamed, governor for Mudug region of Puntland told Reuters, adding that the attack took place on Monday. "We do not want to say publicly how we will react."
The head of the local
authority in the port town of Garad, Abdinur Abdullahi, told Reuters by telephone that
al
Shabaab
with foreign fighters had met local
elders, saying they would "capture many places and fight non-Muslims."
"Most of the residents have fled," he said, adding
al
Shabaab
had been building up forces in the Galgala Hills, echoing comments previously made by officials in Puntland.
There was not immediate comment from
al
Shabaab.
Garad is a former haven for pirates, who had used the natural
port to mount raids on commercial
ships passing
along nearby shipping lanes leading to and from the Red Sea.
An international
naval
effort has largely driven the Somali pirates away. There have been only a few reports of hijackings in the past two or three years, mostly involving fishing boats not the major tankers or commercial
vessels targeted before.
"Without any gunfire, we were surprised to see
al
Shabaab
fighters here," said resident Mohamed Abdullahi by phone, before phone lines were shut off.
Al
Shabaab
also controls Haradhere, another port town in Puntland. Residents said that a curfew was imposed on that town on Sunday night that was followed by unusually active movement in the port, fuelling talk that
al
Shabaab
was importing weapons and possibly fighters from abroad.
The Puntland coast lies near Yemen, where conflict is raging and
al
Qaeda is active.
Al
Shabaabis
aligned to
al
Qaeda.