MOGADISHU, Somalia – A heavy battle was reported to take place on Thursday morning in the village of Aag Sibiri under the Farlibah town of the Hiran region.
The fight which was between the Somali forces backed by clan militia on one side and the Al-Shabaab group came after the militants attacked an army post in the rural locality.
The casualties of the battle that lasted for one hour remained unverified.
An officer told Radio Shabelle that they repulsed the attack by the Al-Shabaab and that the Mawisleyda fighters were still in the area.
The attack comes as the Al-Shabaab has a lot of control in the western areas of the Hiran region after the group was removed from all the eastern areas during a military offensive.
Last year, the community in Hiraan mobilized themselves to push back against the Al-Shabaab group, emboldened at a crucial moment by Ethiopian military support.
The government deployed armed forces to Hiraan that worked in concert with Hawadle forces to flush militants out of villages and towns in August.
The initial focus was on securing the main road from Mogadishu to Beledweyne and a triangular patch of territory between Beledweyne, Mahas, and Bulo Burte.
By October, the army and militias had freed much of Hiraan east of the Shabelle River from Al-Shabaab’s physical control.
