Divisions weaken al-Shabaab as Somali forces approach Kismayo

Al-Shabaab has witnessed increased internal divisions as Somali and allied forces move to eradicate the group from the remaining areas it controls in central and southern Somalia, officials and dissident fighters say.Colonel Adan Shire Rufle, a Somali army officer in Lower Juba, said 50 al-Shabaab fighters on August 24th defected from the group and voluntarily joined the army after witnessing the militants' aggressions and strict version of sharia law. Rufle said dissidents carrying Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns peacefully turned themselves in to Somali forces in Afmadow after escaping al-Shabaab's ambushes. "We expect further splinters and ideological divisions within the al-Shabaab structure, as some elements have expressed interest in surrendering and asked us for refuge from the takfiri traitors," he told Sabahi. Backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Somali forces have started tightening the noose around the remaining militants by attacking al-Shabaab forces around Afmadow as it progresses towards the group's stronghold of Kismayo. ..read more