MOGADISHU: Somalia’s president called on Shabab fighters Wednesday to surrender amid reports factions have shifted allegiance from Al-Qaeda to Daesh.

Both militant franchises are “destroyers,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in a statement, saying he had followed “with interest the now-public dispute within Al-Shabab, over whether to swear allegiance to Al-Qaeda or the Daesh.”

Mohamud said the reported divisions were “symptomatic of a group that has lost its way”, and warned that Somalis “do not need a new brand of horror and repression.”

The Shabab, East Africa’s long-time Al-Qaeda branch, is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, which is protected by 22,000 African Union troops.

The militants have lost much ground in recent years but remain a threat in both Somalia and neighboring Kenya, where they have carried out a series of attacks.

The reported division comes at a time when Daesh in Iraq and Syria has become the militant franchise of choice, attracting fighters from abroad and other militant groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria.