...... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...fighters in central Somalia, local officials said.
"We have reported that nearly 30 people, including 16 Death Eaters, [have been] killed in the Shabeelow village, where civilians ... took up arms [to] battle the terrorists," Osman Isse Nur, a front man for authorities in the Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
region, told the DPA news agency on Saturday.
Local freelance
"Armed villagers opted to fight Lions of Islam to defend their livestock animals from the terrorists," Osman added.
Five hours of fierce battles on Friday killed 14 villagers and many others were hospitalized in the town of Galkayo, Abdi Siyaad, a local elder, told the DPA.
But local elders like Siyaad say villagers are engaging in self-defense against what he describes as "brutality" and intimidation by al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked gang which has de facto control over large parts of south and central Somalia.
"They have been putting pressure on locals living in Shabeelow in Mudug in order to force them [to] surrender their arms and livestock animals for so-called holy war against invading infidels for many years. Locals are tired of the group’s pressure in the context of the so-called holy war," said the elder.
He asked the Somali government to provide weapons so villagers can defend themselves.