Reports from the Hiran region indicate that a clash broke out today between local residents and Al-Shabaab militia in the area of Tardo, located in the eastern part of the region.
The confrontation, which resulted in the deaths of four Al-Shabaab fighters, was sparked by outrage over the militia’s torture of a local resident, followed by the killing of three other locals.
“Locals were angered when Al-Shabaab men tortured a young man while attempting to seize his weapon. When residents tried to intervene, the militants opened fire, killing three people and wounding up to ten others,” said a Tardo resident we spoke to.
The man, who requested anonymity for security reasons, added, “Following that, some residents who had been secretly keeping weapons in the town brought them out and engaged in direct combat with the Al-Shabaab fighters present, killing four of them.”
The situation in Tardo remains highly tense, with the *Hisbah*—an Al-Shabaab unit trained to function like a police force—having withdrawn from the area. An uprising is unfolding in the villages surrounding the area, appearing to signal local opposition to Al-Shabaab.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Beledweyne, Nadar Tabaax Maalin, condemned the killing of civilians by Al-Shabaab militants—an act that ignited the confrontation.
Nadar Tabaax Maalin called on the people of Hiran to unite and cooperate in fighting the *Khawarij* (extremists) and thwarting the plots they are devising against the public.
