DHUSAMAREB, Somalia Dec 7 (Garowe Online) - Islamist Al Shabaab fighters seized two districts in central Somalia without violence on Sunday, as a Sufi group rejected media reports of involvement in days of fighting.

Residents in Galgadud region, central Somalia, reported on Sunday that Al Shabaab guerrillas aboard armed trucks peacefully entered the provincial capital Dhusamareb.

"The local clan militias withdrew before they [Al Shabaab] came," said a Dhusamareb resident.

Before capturing Dhusamareb, Al Shabaab fighters entered and took control of Mataban district further south. There were no reports of violence and local militias withdrew overnight, residents said.

Currently, the Islamist Al Shabaab faction controls key regions in southern Somalia, including the port towns of Kismayo and Marka.

Sufi rejection

A spokesman for Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamee'a, a Sufi group, has rejected media reports that Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamee'a loyalists battled against Al Shabaab guerrillas in Galgadud region last week.

The Sufi group's official spokesman, Sheikh Abdulkadir Somow, told reporters in the capital Mogadishu that Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamee’a was not involved in any fighting.

"The fighting in Guri El [in Galgadud] was between brothers, and Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamee'a was not involved," Sheikh Somow said.

He appealed for all the fighting to stop and called on Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Adde to "resolve differences."

He also called on Islamist groups to "stop fighting each other," while praising the Republic of Djibouti for supporting the Somali peace process.

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Source: Garowe Online