MARKA, Somalia Nov 15 (Garowe Online) - Islamist guerrillas who now control large parts of south-central Somalia have vowed to defend against all attacks, Radio Garowe reported Saturday.

Muktar Robow "Abu Mansur," spokesman for Islamist al Shabaab insurgents, told a crowd in the capital of Lower Shabelle region that the group came to help secure the region against foreigners and criminals.

al Shabaab spokesman Abu Mansur

"Whoever tries to attack this [Lower Shabelle] region as a clan or as a government will face the bullets of the Mujahideen," Abu Mansur told the public gathering in Marka, a port town that fell under Islamist control last week.

He said al Shabaab will establish an Islamic court to administer justice in the region, adding: "We will not allow the citizens to be oppressed again."

Call for justice

A self-appointed clan leader of the Habar Gedir sub-clan, of the larger Hawiye clan-family, recently told local press that he welcomes the al Shabaab takeover of Lower Shabelle region.

Imam Abdullahi Khalif Roble told Mogadishu-based Radio Shabelle that the Islamist al Shabaab group must rule the region "under the Qur'an" – referring to Islam's Holy Book.

Al Shabaab and other factions of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) have been fighting for the restoration of Islamic rule since Ethiopian troops invaded the country two years ago.

Yusuf Indha Ade, a Habar Gedir warlord, was allied to the ICU and has served as the Islamists' defense secretary.

He reportedly ran away from the region, where natives subjected to more than 15 years of warlord oppression are now demanding Islamic justice and compensation.

Source: Garowe Online