Shortly after the Somali premier was designated in November, he called on all Al Shabaab fighters to stop fighting and join the Somali government. Since then, militant fighters have started to defect.
Less than two months after the country's prime minister called for militants to defect, Al Shabaab fighters are continuing to respond. The transitional federal government of Somalia on Monday displayed seven fighters who said they hated working for the extremist group.
Officials from the Somali department of home security invited a group of journalists to a police center in Mogadishu to interview some of the Al Shabaab defectors.
Yusuf Mohammed Hassan, who said he led young Al Shabaab fighters, told reporters the group had escaped from Mogadishu battle fronts, particularly the Bondhere district front where fighting between the militant group and Somali forces has been ongoing for about a year.
Hassan said they are ready to work with the Somali government, adding they defected in response to the premier’s call.
“Mohammed Ali. known as Al Ansari, who last month defected from the group, called us by telephone and urged us to defect from Al Shabaab. promising we shall be safe. Then, six young fighters and I agreed to escape from war zones,” Hassan said with a smile.
“Al Shabaab doesn’t act in accordance with Islamic religion. They behead and set fire to the people who made no mistake. One day, I had seen with my own eyes, some Al Shabaab fighters cutting off the tongue of a Somali young man brutally,” he recounted.
The Somali government is ready to welcome anyone who wants peace, a Somali police officer said during the event.
Shortly after the Somali premier was designated in November, he called on all Al Shabaab fighters to stop fighting and join the Somali government. Since then, militant fighters have started to defect.
Al Shabaab has yet to comment on the defectors' claims.
Last month, six fighters defected from the radical terrorist group.
Source:: www.allheadlinenews.com
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