Al-Shabab extremists deny contact with Somalia’s government

By OMAR FARUK
Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group has denied having contact with the Somali government after the country’s deputy defense minister claimed that the extremists had for the first time asked to negotiate. An unnamed al-Shabab official with the group’s media unit told a pro-al-Shabab website in comments published Sunday that “there is no talk between us.” The comments came amid a military offensive the government launched last year that it described as “total war.” Al-Shabab is an al-Qaida-affiliate that for well over a decade has carried out high-profile bombings in Somalia’s capital and controlled parts of the country’s central and southern regions.