Egypt Daily News – Somali government officials and a military source reported that militants from the Al-Shabab group clashed with the Somali army and allied local forces on Thursday in an effort to capture a strategic military base in central Somalia. The attack is part of the Al-Qaeda-linked group’s broader attempt to expand its recent territorial gains in the region.
The base, located in the town of Wargadhi in the Middle Shabelle region, houses regular troops, special forces, and clan fighters. Capturing it would allow Al-Shabab to disrupt a critical road linking the capital, Mogadishu, with the Galmudug region. Mogadishu lies about 200 kilometers southwest of the combat zone.
Al-Shabab claimed in a statement that its fighters had taken control of both the base and the town of Wargadhi. However, the Somali government denied the claim.
According to the Somali National News Agency, the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism announced that the national army, in coordination with local residents, had killed more than 40 Al-Shabab militants in two separate operations in the Middle Shabelle region.
Despite that, Somali army officer Hussein Ali told Reuters that militants had captured Wargadhi following “intense battles.”
“We lost 12 men, most of them clan fighters,” he said. “Around 20 Al-Shabab militants were also killed.” He added, “Eventually, reinforcements reached Al-Shabaab and enabled them to take control of the town.”
Ali explained that the Somali army struggled to send reinforcements because key roads pass through areas controlled by Al-Shabab.
Two soldiers later reported that government forces had managed to retake part of the town by morning with the support of airstrikes.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the claims made by either side.
Last week, Al-Shabab attacked the town of Aden Yabal, about 245 kilometers north of Mogadishu, which the Somali army had used as a base for launching operations against the militants.
This follows a series of attacks by Al-Shabab last month, during which they temporarily seized villages just 50 kilometers from Mogadishu—raising fears among residents in the capital of a potential assault.
Although Somali forces have since recaptured those villages, Al-Shabab has continued to make gains in rural areas, even as the future of international security support for Somalia becomes increasingly uncertain.
Earlier this year, a new African Union peacekeeping mission replaced a larger force, but its funding remains in doubt amid U.S. opposition to transitioning to a UN-funded model.
