Muhyadin Ahmed Roble, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
A Somali Islamist group Hizbul Islam that seized the port town and major pirate hub of Harardhere on Sunday vows to end piracy in the troubled African country. The group is bent on imposing the strict Sharia law of Islam in the central town of Harardhere, 500 km north of the capital Mogadishu.
Sheikh Ahmed Abu Yahya, a senior Hizbul Islam commander said: "From now on, Harardhere is one of the Somali towns where Islamic Sharia will be implemented.
"There will be no piracy or any kind of robbery here. From now on people will obey Islamic law."
He added in an AFP report: "Our presence here will change the image of this town which the bandits destroyed."
Dozens of armed fighters from the Hizbul Islam group are now camping in Harardhere. A local resident Guled Ali told AfricaNews that hundreds of pirates fled from the town before the militants arrived in Harardhere.
“They were using luxury cars and trucks to carry away TVs, generators, mattresses and others,” Ali said.
Harardhere is one of the pirates’ strongholds, where at least six vessels and more than 90 people are being held hostage.
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