Ex-Shabaab tell of cruelty, betrayal
2012-07-11 22:23
Mogadishu - Somalia military officials say defections from the militant group al-Shabaab are accelerating as Somali and African Union troops take new territory around Mogadishu.
Militants who abandon al-Shabaab risk retaliatory assassinations from fighters still loyal to the militia. A government-run program in Mogadishu houses several hundred former fighters, many of them teenagers. The programme provides meals, housing and courses on patriotism, anti-violence and religion.
Defector Mohamed Saeed, 18, said militants didn't dare share plans about defecting with even their closest battlefield friends. Trust, he said, could get you killed.
As al-Shabaab has lost its profit centers - the markets in Mogadishu the militants once taxed, for example - life on the battlefield became harder. Saeed said fighters often ate only one meal a day.
- SAPA
