Bloomberg
Friday, August 12, 2011
"Now we can practice guerrilla war," said Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys on Radio Kulmiye, a broadcaster based in the city. "We adjust our tactics."
Al-Shabaab, which has waged a four-year campaign to remove the Western-backed government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, withdrew its forces from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Aug. 6. The government said the move was a "tremendous step forward for the nation," according to an Aug. 9 statement.
Aweys said today there has been infighting among the leaders of al-Shabaab since the withdrawal. Strategic Forecasting Inc. said in an e-mailed note yesterday the militants may have appointed a new leader.
Last month, the United Nations declared a famine in five southern regions of Somalia, including Mogadishu, amid the worst drought in the region in 60 years.
--With assistance from David Malingha Doya in Dar es Salaam and Paul Richardson in Nairobi. Editors: Emily Bowers, Fergal O'Brien.
Source: Bloomberg