Al-Shabab declares all-out war in Somalia

Al-Shabab fighters have declared an all-out war against the fragile transition Somali government and African Union peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab’s declaration of war on Friday comes amid heightened tensions over a possible government campaign against the militia’s fighters.

A senior al-Shabab official, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur, said his group has prepared its fighters for a holy war against the UN-backed government and its supporters.

“Our fighters are prepared to take part in this war that we are declaring against the enemy of Allah. We must take part in this war because it is our responsibility as Muslims to defend the religion and eliminate the enemy from our country,” he told a congregation at Nasrul-din Mosque in southern Mogadishu.

You are aware of the recent “indiscriminate shelling of the enemy against our people. This war is a religious obligation for all of us to join and fight them,” Robow told the crowd after prayers.

He added that his group was aware of plans by neighboring countries to deploy newly trained recruits to fight them in some regions in the war-torn country.

“We are aware that Kenya and Ethiopia are discussing on how they can send in Somali militia trained for the western puppet (government), but we are telling them that we are ready,” Robow stated.