 As is evident by their merger with Hizb-ul-Islam in December 2010, al-Shabaab is turning to former rivals for assistance as their numbers decrease due to defections and casualties directly resulting from battles with AMISOM forces.In June 2012, TFG spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman announced that around 500 militants had already defected from al-Shabaab to fight alongside government forces.He added that the defections were reportedly increasing on a daily basis since TFG forces had captured the strategically important town of Afgooye from the insurgent group.