MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) -Over seventy al-Shabaab fighters have defected from the group in the last three months, a military official has confirmed amid intensified SNA security operations in central and southern Somalia.
Addressing the media, Brigadier General Mohamed Tahlil Bihi, the commander of SNA infantry forces said the defectors surrendered to government forces in different military bases.
“From December to February, 76 al-Shabaab fighters have defected to Somali security forces in central and southern Somalia. This came after Somali military increased attacks against al-Shabaab,” Bihi said.
Halbeeg News cannot authoritatively confirm the claims of the general as the government had not yet paraded the defectors.
The remarks of Bihi comes as the Somali military in southern Somalia claimed to have killed over a dozen al-Shabaab fighters following fierce fighting with the group’s fighters.
SNA officials in Hudur town on Tuesday said over five al-Shabaab fighters were killed during clashes with SNA soldiers following an al-Shabaab’s attempt to over a military facility in the town.
Somalia with the support of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) forces has been fighting al-Shabaab for more than a decade.
The government managed to liberate major towns including the capital from al-Shabaab after heavy fighting between the allied forces and al-Shabaab.
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