Sunday October 17, 2021
Baidoa (HOL) - Somalia's military said that an Al-Shabaab fighter has defected from the militant insurgent group and surrendered to their soldiers.
Mohamed Kulow Ali, an al-Shabaab operative operating in the Bakol region in southwestern Somalia, has surrendered to government forces. He was said to have been based out of Wajid town.
The command of the 60th Division of the Somali National Army operating in the South West State revealed that the defecting fighters had his AK47 rifle, several rounds of ammunition, a walkie-talkie, and cell phones when he surrendered.
In recent years, a small handful of Al-Shabaab fighters have surrendered to the 60th Division of the Somali National Army (SNA). The division's commander, General Mohamed Sheikh Abdullahi, said he encouraged other fighters to abandon Al-Shabaab and join the government.
Somalia's federal government has granted a general amnesty to Al-Shabaab fighters to encourage defection.