At least 15 people were killed in central Somalia when villagers clashed with Al-Shabab militants trying to recruit their children as fighters. 

According to local sources, 10 militants and five villagers died in the fighting in Aad village, in the central Galmudug administration.  A villager who requested anonymity said that the militants met with local elders two days ago and sought help with the recruitment. “The fighting came after they demanded that we provide young children to fight alongside them,” he said.

He said the villagers organized themselves and decided to resist, but Al-Shabab moved into the village, and took control.

“They are using power, they want to take kids, they want livestock, the fighting is not over,” he said.

Galmudug regional deputy security minister Mahad Hassan Mohamed said that the villagers are defending themselves. “They [Al-Shabab] want to take away their children and take them to their madrassas. The people have rejected this,” Mohamed said.

The Shabab militants say they defended the village after an attack by regional forces and killed 15 regional troops.