Mogadishu Mayor warns al-Shabab slipper cells comeback as civilians fleeing war, drought flock Mogadishu

Mogadishu residents have been urged to remain vigilant in the coming months for fear of infiltration of members of the militant group al-Shabab.

Banadir Governor and Mayor of Mogadishu has said elements of the group are planning to infiltrate slipper cells in many parts of the capital. 

Mayor Yussuf Hussein Madaale said hundreds of people have flocked the region from Central and Southern Somalia, escaping the devastating drought and ongoing fight against positions and towns controlled by al-Shabab.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mayor Hussein Madaale has called on city residents to remain vigilant adding that Somali Police will beef up security around most critical infrastructures across the city to stop al-Shabab attacks.

“Many of the children and wives of the militants have arrived in the city. They can live with us, there is no problem,” said mayor Madaale. 

“They can only live with us under one condition, that the enemy does not use them to bring back slipper cells in the city. We want all residents to be aware of their neighbors,” added the Governor. 

The Mogadishu regional administration has assured residents that security in the capital has been scaled up through different policing operations.

He urged people in Mogadishu to be extra vigilant and report to security agencies any threat to their lives and suspicious individuals. 

Government forces, supported by clan militias, have made a number of battlefield gains against al Shabaab in the last three months, regaining territory long held by the group. 

In response, al Shabaab killed at least 120 people in twin car bombs at the education ministry in the capital Mogadishu on Oct. 29, the deadliest blasts in five years. 

The al Qaeda-linked group has killed tens of thousands since 2006 in its fight to overthrow Somalia’s Western-backed central government and implement its interpretation of Islamic law.

Offensive against the group has continued since the government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed a ‘total war’ against the jihadist who have besieged the central and Federal member states of Somalia.

The group has retaliated by conducting attacks in Mogadishu and other Cities in Somalia as the Army continues to battle the insurgent in central and southern Somalia.