09/05/2022 Somalia (International Christian Concern) – In an overnight attack that began Friday, September 2, Al-Shabaab militants killed at least 18 civilians and destroyed trucks filled with relief food in Somalia.  

The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic extremist group launched the attack in Hishabelle state, located in central Somalia. The food trucks targeted were transporting supplies from Baladweyne city to Mahas town.  

The attack came just a few days after the terrorist group launched a bloody attack on a hotel in Mogadishu that left 21 dead.  

The extremist group has been waging an insurgency against Somalia’s central government for over a decade, and the violence has ramped up over the summer. Their ultimate goal is to make the region an Islamic caliphate governed by their own hyper-strict interpretation of Sharia law.  

According to Farah Aden, a local elder who lives in Hishabelle state, “Al-Shabaab is doing all these things to make us surrender. But we shall never surrender to al-Shabaab as long as there is a soul in us. Government forces have not reached the scene yet.” 

Please pray for those suffering at the hands of Al-Shabaab in Somalia. 

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