126 former Al-Shabaab combatants have graduated from the Baidoa Rehabilitation Centre in Somalia’s South West State after completing an intensive rehabilitation program. The program graduates, comprising youths from various parts of the country, received vocational training and psychological support from the center.
The training and reintegration of former combatants is an integral part of the National Program for the Treatment and Handling of Disengaged Combatants in Somalia, led by the Office of the Defectors Rehabilitation Program, under the Federal Ministry of Internal Security.
The program contributes to the long-term stabilization of Somalia by promoting defections of Al-Shabaab combatants and reintegration of disengaged combatants into their communities.
The centers offer vocational training and psychological counseling to prepare former combatants for their reintegration into local communities. Also, the ex-combatants received training in various vocational training skills, among them, electricity, masonry, tailoring as well as welding.
