MOGADISHU, Somalia – Two Al Shabaab fighters have surrendered to the government forces of Somalia in the Bakool region as the war on the group enters its second phase.
Mohamed Ibrahim, 22, and Aden Isak, 21, defected from Al-Shabaab after making contacts before surrendering to Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency [NISA].
They will be taken for rehabilitation at a rehab center in Baidoa or Mogadishu, per reports.
NISA officials in the Bakool region urged the group fighters intending to benefit from the government’s amnesty to follow suit, saying they would welcome defecting from the Al Shabab.
The defection comes as the fighting between the Somali National Army [SNA] and the local clan fighters intensified the fight against Al-Shabaab on several fronts mainly in south-central Somalia.
Despite defeats, the militants still control huge swathes of rural areas where they conduct ambushes and plant landmines targeting the military convoy of the SNA and AU troops.
