Al-Shabab fighters offered amnesty as new Somali president declares war

 

farmajovilla somalia
Mr Farmajo, centre-left, said terror attacks had become more frequent

Somalia’s new president has offered al-Shabab militants a 60-day amnesty amid a declaration of war on the group.

Fighters who gave themselves up would receive training, employment and education, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo said.

Somalia has reported frequent terror attacks, and a spate of kidnappings.

The announcement comes as at least 10 people were reportedly killed in roadside explosion in the Lower Shebelle region on Thursday

The cause of the explosion has not been confirmed.

President Farmajo announced the amnesty at a news conference in the capital Mogadishu, dressed in full military fatigues.

“We want to pardon the Somali youth who were misled by al-Shabab,” he said.

He also announced a major shakeup in the drought-stricken country’s security services.

“Terror attacks have become frequent and all Somali forces are on a state of alert to combat insecurity and terror.”

Al-Shabab militants are suspected of a spate of kidnappings of aid workers in the drought-hit country.

Analysts say the new measures aim to reinforce gains made by the UN mission in Somalia, Amisom, and government forces.

It comes after US President Donald Trump relaxed some of the rules for preventing civilian casualties in Somalia when counter-terrorism air strikes are carried out, laying the ground for an intensification of the campaign against the group.

bomb in mogadishuEPA
Al-Shabab are accused of numerous attacks in Somalia and Kenya

Senior officers in Somalia’s intelligence service and police force have been replaced to prepare for the escalating war against the militants.

Mr Farmajo named a new military commander, director of national security and intelligence, commander of police and a new head of prison forces.

The new president was elected in February promising a “new beginning” for the country.

Al-Shabab – which is allied to al-Qaeda – is battling Somalia’s UN-backed government and has also carried out attacks in neighbouring Kenya.

SOURCE          –         BBC

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    Somalia leader declares country a ‘war zone’

    President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has instructed the army to prepare a new offensive against al-Shabab.
    Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed with U.N. Secretary general Antonio Guterres in Mogadishu [Feisal Omar/Reuters]
    Somalia’s new president has declared the country a war zone and instructed the army to prepare a new offensive against the al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab.
    The announcement by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Thursday comes amid a worsening security situation as al-Shabab steps up deadly bombings in the capital since the country’s new leader took office in February.
    A car bomb blast on Wednesday at a Mogadishu restaurant killed at least seven people.
    Mohamed wore a military uniform as he declared the new offensive and offered young fighters a chance to surrender.
    “We tell the young, brainwashed al-Shabab fighters that they have a 60-days deadline to lay down the arms with which they use to kill their people and come to us,” he said.
    “We shall welcome them with open arms.”
    Al-Shabab has denounced the new president as an “apostate” and warned Somalis against supporting him.
    The new leader also on Thursday replaced Somalia’s military, intelligence and police chiefs.
    The security restructure is seen as an attempt by Mohamed to consolidate power in the long-chaotic horn of Africa nation.
    The changes also come roughly a week after the Trump administration approved greater US military authority to pursue al-Shabab in Somalia, including more aggressive air strikes as parts of southern Somalia will be considered areas of active hostilities.
    Al-Shabab has been pushed out of the capital and other major urban areas in Somalia by national and African Union multinational forces, but it continues to carry out deadly bombings and attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Targets have included hotels, military checkpoints, and the presidential palace.
    Somalia’s security forces are under pressure to improve as they will assume responsibility for defending the country once the 22,000-strong AU force leaves by the end of 2020.
    Al-Shabab is just one of the challenges facing the new government, which despite hundreds of millions of dollars of support from the international community still struggles to expand its authority beyond the capital and other selected areas.
    Drought threatens about half of Somalia’s population of 12 million, the United Nations has said, and hijackings of cargo ships off the country’s coast in recent weeks have signaled a return to piracy on one of the world’s most critical shipping routes.
    Source     –      Al Jazeera News Agency