Officials in Somaliland have detained a senior militant commander who defected from al Shabaab terror group in Somalia, RBC Radio reports. The operation conducted jointly by Ethiopian intelligence members and the Somaliland counter-terrorism forces targeted Abdullahi Mohamed Ahmed Arabey, a senior former member of al Shabaab who has defected from the terror group and fled to seek refuge at his home region of Somaliland.

The operation took place at Hidh-hidh village near the Widh-Widh district of Togdheer region close to the Ethiopian border. Arabey is believed to be a key figure in the militants’ ranks and maintained a good relation with al Shabaab’s top commander Ahmed Abdi Godane before a serious infighting broke within the group. Arabey and Godane both hail originally from Somaliland.

Sources said that Arabey fled to his home region after infighting within al Shabaab grew bigger as the group’s powerful commander started assassinating his rivals. The Ethiopian intelligence have reportedly took custody of the senior al Shabaab defector.

Somaliland, which is unrecognized region on the north of Somalia, maintains warm relations with the neighbouring Ethiopia. The region has signed a collective security treaty which allows Ethiopian intelligence to apprehend suspects from inside Somaliland’s administered regions.

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Source: Radio RBC, Feb. 5, 2014, titled “Ethiopian, Somaliland security agents detain senior al Shabaab defector”.