...... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...commander surrendered in Somalia on Tuesday, state media reports, after 13 years expedition with the al-Qaeda-linked group, which has been terrorizing innocent civilians and security forces in the Horn of Africa nation for the last two decades.
Mohammed Omar Mohammed, 21, defected from the hard boyz in the Lower Jubba region, just ahead of the operation against the group, which is set for activation in the coming weeks. The Somali National Army [SNA] is gearing towards operations in Jubaland and Southwest states.
According to him, he has been serving in al-Shabaab since 2010 when he was just 8 years old, revealing the ugly part of the group on recruitment and radicalization of minors in Somalia. al-Shabaab hard boyz target minors as soft targets in their propaganda, destroying the lives of hundreds of them across Somalia.
"After 13 years of being a child soldier for al-Shabaab holy warriors, Mohammed Omar Mohammed, 21, gave himself up to the National Armed Forces in the Lower Jubba area on Tuesday," state media reported, without giving further details about Omar, who has been in battlefront almost throughout his life.
The government of Somalia announced amnesty to defectors, noting that they would undergo counseling before being integrated into the people. Since operations against al-Shabaab commenced last year, dozens of fighters have surrendered to the Somali National Army and the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS].
A senior Al-Shabab commander surrendered to the Somali National Army (SNA) on Tuesday in the Lower Jubba region under the Jubaland state of Somalia.
According to Somalia’s defense ministry, Mohamed Omar Mohamed, a long-time recruit of the Al-Qaeda-linked group, has safely defected to SNA forces in Bar Sanguni, about 50 kilometers north of Kismayo, the interim capital of Jubaland state.
“This defection highlights the crumbling morale within their ranks. His defection comes in the wake of relentless offensives by government forces against the Khawarij,” said the ministry in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“We are now displaying to the media an al-Shabab commander who was popular in areas under Jubaland State here in Bar Sanguni town, he was armed with an AK47 rifle and ammunition after he made successful contact with the army about his surrender,” said an SNA officer.
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Lower Jubba: 2023-08-15 Jubaland Intelligence averts Al-Shabaab bomb attack in Kismayo