ASWJ’s executive committee vice chairman Adan Abdulle Awale confirmed to Sunatimes that armed militants raided their base on the outskirt of the town, prompting a full scale confrontation between militias of the two groups.

Awale refuted claims that Al-Shabaab militant took over the town early in the morning only to be ousted again.

He said their fighters retreated from the attacked base for what he said was “a tactical move” and later repulsed the attackers.

He claimed that there were no casualties on their side, adding that some locals were slightly injured during the fight.

Al-Shabaab militias fled Mahas town last Sunday after Ahlu Sunna militias backed by the allied Ethiopian troops arrived at Gobo village, 15 km northeast of Mahas town.

The Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab militants have been losing grounds to the allied forces in both central and south-west Somalia since Ethiopian troops crossed again into the border last November.