The rebels, made up of almost every faction in the Shabab, were apparently in the process of declaring themselves independent from the Shabab. And on the forums and Somali Jihadi sites, the peanut gallery seems to be firmly on the side of the supreme leader, Abu Zubayr. This works well for the incumbent; Abu Zubayr can count on them to have his back as long as he is the leader. I am interested in the fact that some of the rebels were frustrated by the lack of escalation of the foreign front by Abu Zubayr. In 2010 Abu Mansur the Somali had disagreements with the Shabab leader, but had buried the hatchet after arbitration.