Very tough Al shabaab commanders have reportedly entered East Africa in a bid to mobilize more people to join their ranks, Walakira Nyanzi reports. This has come at a time when Uganda’s army the UPDF has increased military aggression against Al Shabaab fighters in Mogadishu in an operation code named ‘Operation Free Shabelle.’

One of the commanders of operation free shabelle told our correspondences in Mogadishu that the Al Shabaab commanders ran to East Africa because the UPDF is slowly gaining more ground in Somalia and it is advancing to all parts of Afgoye Town.

One of the Al Shabaab’s commanders who has entered East Africa but he is yet to enter Uganda is Sheikh Dahir Aweys, the former leader of the Hizbul Islam group.

Dahir Aweys, reportedly first held a series of political meetings in Lower Shabelle where he accused other al-Shabaab leaders of killing innocent people. Sheikh Aweys told the Al Shabaab commanders that killing innocent Muslims is not on the menu of Islamic teachings.

The meeting Sheikh Aweys held was also attended by the leader of al-Shabaab, Abdi aw-Mohamud Godane, (aka Mukhtar abu al-Zubair).

Al shabaab fighters are believed to be behind the military attacks on the people of Kampala, and Kenya in which hundreds of people have lost their lives and scores crippled.