JOWHAR, Somalia – Armed assailants hijacked seven passenger vehicles traveling from Mogadishu to Gaalkacyo over the weekend, abducting more than 130 people in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, a local transport official said on Monday.
The hijacking occurred between the areas of Wargaadhi and Cad Cadeey, according to Mohamed Daahir Cirbayare, chairman of the Gaalkacyo Transport Committee. The passengers included women, children, elderly people, and individuals who were reportedly sick.
Cirbayare said the hijacking appeared to be part of a retaliatory cycle of abductions involving armed groups in Middle Shabelle and the neighboring Hiraan region. A separate group in Matabaan, Hiraan, is currently holding vehicles in what is believed to be a response to an earlier incident involving the confiscation of khat in Aadan Yabaal during a period of government control.
“The passengers are being used as bargaining chips in a standoff between rival groups,” Cirbayare said.
The mass abduction has disrupted travel between southern and central Somalia and raised concerns about the safety of key overland transport routes.
Authorities from the Somali federal government and the Hirshabelle regional administration have not commented on the incident. It remains unclear whether negotiations for the release of the hostages are underway.
