Hiiraan Online

The events, at which attendance was mandatory, took place October 29th in the towns of Barawe, Bulo Burde and El Bur, which, respectively, lie in Somalia's Lower Shabelle, Hiran and Galgadud regions. They also occurred amid an anticipated troop surge for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

In Bulo Burde, al-Shabaab used loudspeakers mounted on vehicles circulating through neighbourhoods to broadcast their message and coerce residents into attending the sermons, said Ali Mohamud, a 58-year-old traditional elder from the area.

"We attended while fearing for our lives. The sermons were about telling us, the area residents, that our sons who are living with us and those in the regions beyond al-Shabaab's control are needed to fight against AMISOM and government forces and they should join al-Shabaab," he told Sabahi.

Al-Shabaab was trying to convince the public that troops from other African countries were coming into Somalia to destroy Islam's presence, Mohamud said.

"They told us they killed two-thirds of the AMISOM troops that were located in Somalia, and as the residents of Bulo Burde, we were required to have our children join in the jihad," he said. "They even told us it is a religious obligation upon us to forward this message to our children, wherever they may be living in the world."

In Barawe, al-Shabaab was seeking new recruits to take part in terrorist acts, but no one showed interest, said Asha Muse, a 38-year-old resident and mother of seven.

"They forced us to attend and listen to the sermons through which al-Shabaab sought recruits to participate in the trouble they are causing, [but until now] I have not seen even a single person among the people who says 'I am ready to join you,'" she said. "That shows how much people have come to hate al-Shabaab, whom people initially thought of as a group that is fighting for religious reasons."

'Our enemy is al-Shabaab'

As in the other areas, people in El Bur did not take the bait, as al-Shabaab recruiters tried to mislead their audience in the name of Islam, said Sharmarke Abdi, a 41-year-old resident who owns a foodstuff shop there.

"It became a laughable matter as we listened to al-Shabaab's attempt to recruit troops whom they said were needed to fight the enemies of God, as they described AMISOM and government troops," he told Sabahi.

"God has the power to overcome His enemies however he pleases. God does not need us to protect Him from enemies as we are the ones who are in need of His protection against our enemies," Abdi said. "Our enemy is al-Shabaab. May God rescue us from them."

According to Abdi, al-Shabaab tried to persuade El Bur residents that the additional troops being deployed to Somalia from other African countries were coming to take away their wives and daughters by force.

"I heard some of the ones holding sermons spread fear among the people by saying if we do not join al-Shabaab, the 4,000 AMISOM troops that are coming to Somalia will rape our wives and daughters and we will become nonbelievers," Abdi said.

"As a way to incite people and convince them of their ideology, they are saying whatever they think will work to convince the people to join them," he said, adding that the town residents did not believe the militant's claims.