The al-Qaida affiliate in East Africa is a brutal force that amputates and executes people, and flogs women in public.

But in mid-March it released photographs showing its fighters giving food relief to alleged residents of Lower Shabelle region. Media reports say the group has formed drought committees for food distributions in six regions under its control and has dug water canals for farmers.

Roman Catholic Bishop Giorgio Bertin, the apostolic administrator of Mogadishu, said he’s not surprised the group is distributing food in areas where the government has not been as responsive.

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