A former member of Somali militant group Al Shabaab has addressed the media in Puntland, saying that he quit the group following an amnesty extended by Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole, Radio Garowe reports.
On Thursday, Mr. Abdirisak Ahmed Hersi held a joint press conference with Puntland’s deputy police commissioner, Col. Abdullahi Salah Nadarre, and clan elders from Mr. Hersi’s community.
Abdirizak Ahmed Hersi
The press conference, held at police headquarters in Garowe, was requested personally by Mr. Hersi, according to local journalists.
“No one asked me to join Al Shabaab before and now I am leaving by my own decision,” said Mr. Hersi, who expressed thanks to clan elders and President Farole for extending a limited amnesty to militants.
Mr. Hersi explained that he operated “mostly in Mogadishu and Kismayo area,” of southern Somalia. Kismayo has been a base for Al Shabaab since August 2008, when the militants seized control of the strategic port town from clan warlords.
“I joined Al Shabaab to fight against non-Muslim nations who intervene in Somalia and cause suffering, but I left Al Shabaab after realizing the group operates on clan hatreds,” said Mr. Hersi, who hails from Puntland clans.
It is the first time a defector from Al Shabaab has addressed local media, with Puntland security officials and clan elders by his side.
'Aqil Abdullahi Mohamed Aw'Isse, a clan elder in Garowe, told the press conference that the community leaders were encouraged by the government's pardon and engaged Mr. Hersi to urge his defection from the terrorist group.
Col. Nadarre, the state’s deputy police chief, told reporters that the Puntland government is “committed to improving security” and stated that Mr. Hersi’s defection is an “example” for others to join.
Analysts say Al Shabaab militants use propaganda to motivate young men to join a war against perceived enemies, particularly the West and its allies in Somalia and elsewhere.
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