Al-Shabaab denies reports of internal rifts

Al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist group seeking to topple the Somali government has denied any division within its ranks following recent reports carried by a section of the media.

The group’s spokesperson Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Raghe alias Ali Dhere, said they are not plagued by internal power struggle over leadership.

Talking to the BBC’s Somali Language Service, he labelled the reports as mere propaganda by what he called the ‘enemy.’

Officials from the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and the peacekeepers serving the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) recently claimed that al-Shabaab has lost all its positions in the capital Mogadishu because of internal wrangles.

This occurred after clashes between the militia and government forces and their allies. Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamea, a moderate Islamist group and Amisom were instrumental in the rout.

Key positions lost by al-Shabaab included its main base in the city, Mogadishu Stadium and Warshadda Baastada (former Pasta Factory), a strategic location used by the fanatical Islamist movement to control the capital's northern districts.