Highlight
- Radicalized youths into Somali terror group Harakat Al Shabaab Al Mujahideen continue to surrender themselves to the Somali authorities at the advantage of the amnesty offer by the government.
- On Wednesday 5th July, Somali authorities confirmed that over hundred Al Shabaab fighters surrendered to Somali government forces and African Union peacekeepers in Bakol region of southwestern Somalia alone.
- The numbers of Al Shabaab returnees are however increasing as AMISOM intensifies its operations in the country’s Southern region.
- In the event, they narrate the horrors with the terror group which has forced many to take the slightest opportunity to escape.
- Towards the end of July 2015, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud for the third time in almost two years offered amnesty to the al-Qaeda-linked militant, the members of Harakat Al Shabaab Al Mujahideen.
Horror experiences within Al Shabaab
In the rehabilitation program offered to Al Shabaab returnees, militants narrate of the horrors they face once they are settled within the terror group. Most of them are coerced into the terror when fighters capture them. Some are lured on juicy promises that end up empty.
The militant group promises recruits of fat monthly salaries to lure them into terror. Some live for months without touching a single penny. This could be owed to the group’s treachery and equally too, to its bankruptcy.
Apart from killing, the fighters are occasionally forced to rod civilians to boost the group’s resources. They attack villagers and steal food for the group. They are also required to risk their lives sourcing for arms at security institutions.
Those who do not abide by the strict sharia laws that govern the group are heavily punished including with death.
Speaking on anonymity, former militants also reveal leadership wrangles within Al Shabaab terror group. There are instances in which leaders in the group have conspired against each other and even killed each other for power greed.
Summary
Speaking on terrorism on his visit in Africa in July 2015, the US President Barack Obama asserted that there is no future for terrorism and terrorists. Al Shabaab offers nothing but death and destruction.
Many governments in the region including Kenya and Somalia have however extended amnesty offers to militants willing to re-think their decisions and surrender to their governments, where they can be assured with pardon, safety and rehabilitation. Luckily, many former militants are taking advantage of the offer and continue to surrender themselves to the government.
Somali presidential pardon, rehabilitation program, education and training are being offered to militants who are abandoning the Mujahideen terror outfit in Somalia. The program is experiencing successes as more militants trickle in and surrender to Somali authorities. This is a measure that is likely to render the government immense successes as it battles the terror outfit that is out to topple the government.
