Sheikh Muktar Abu Zubeir, in an audio message sent to media, said his fighters would keep up attacks against government troops and foreign peacekeepers despite the retreat.
His comments showed the divisions within the al Qaeda-affiliated group’s ranks as government forces and African Union peacekeepers battled them in the capital, ultimately forcing them to withdraw from most of their bases there.
“This new phase of fighting has also split people into two groups. Al Shabaab — a faithful group that says the real fighting has just started and believes God’s promise that there will be a victory at the end, and a hypocrite group that lost hope and believes there will be no victory,” Abu Zubeir said in the message on the eve of Eid, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Analysts said they expected al Shabaab, which still controls large swathes of south and central Somalia, to return to Mogadishu and adopt guerrilla tactics.
It was not immediately clear how big Abu Zubeir’s following now was but he said he would carry out more attacks against his sworn enemies, government troops and AU forces.
“We didn’t abandon the fighting and we aren’t weak. We are now launching a new phase of fighting against you which will prove to be your end,” he said.
MOGADISHU UNSAFE
Abu Zubeir’s issued his warning as thousands of Somalis were returning to Mogadishu, having fled fighting which has killed more than 20,000 people since 2007, according to U.N. estimates.