Tuesday June 24, 2025
Garowe (HOL) — Puntland regional government has acknowledged
it does not have dedicated rehabilitation centers for young prisoners who
defect from al-Shabab and ISIS or are captured during security operations.
Speaking before the Puntland Parliament on Monday, Justice
Minister Mohamed Abdiwahaab Ahmed said these individuals are currently being
held in regular prisons due to the significant security threat they pose.
“These individuals are not ordinary people,” the minister
told lawmakers. “They are militants with advanced military training. Some have
killed as many as 20 people or possess the skills to manufacture bombs. One of
them alone can fight off five soldiers.”
Minister Ahmed said such individuals are too dangerous to be
placed in community-based rehabilitation centers or standard facilities.
The minister’s comments followed a recent visit by Puntland
lawmakers to several prisons, where they observed former al-Shabab and ISIS
members held in custody. The MPs called for the establishment of special
centers to rehabilitate former militants, especially younger detainees.
In 2018, at least 10 al-Shabab inmates escaped from a
rehabilitation center in Garowe. Most were teenagers captured during the 2016
battles in Suuj and Garmaal, highlighting long-standing concerns about the
security and management of such facilities.