By Adnan Hussein in Mogadishu
August 28, 2012
Al-Shabaab has witnessed increased internal divisions as Somali and
allied forces move to eradicate the group from the remaining areas it
controls in central and southern Somalia, officials and dissident
fighters say.
Colonel Adan Shire Rufle, a Somali army officer in Lower Juba, said
50 al-Shabaab fighters on August 24th defected from the group and
voluntarily joined the army after witnessing the militants' aggressions
and strict version of sharia law.
Rufle said dissidents carrying Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns peacefully turned themselves in to Somali forces in Afmadow after escaping al-Shabaab's ambushes.
"We expect further splinters and ideological divisions within the al-Shabaab structure, as some elements have expressed interest in surrendering and asked us for refuge from the takfiri traitors," he told Sabahi.
Backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Somali forces have started tightening the noose around the remaining militants by attacking al-Shabaab forces around Afmadow as it progresses towards the group's stronghold of Kismayo.
Over the past several weeks, allied forces have been bombing sites used by al-Shabaab and followers of al-Qaeda in Gedo and Lower Juba, according to the Somali army.
Former fighter Kamal Mohamed Yarow said al-Shabaab militants are nothing but ignorant mafia gang members who rob, loot and kill -- acts condemned by Islam. He said al-Shabaab's reputation is poor among the victimised Somali people, whose blood they have spilt and whose homes and businesses they have destroyed.
Yarow told Sabahi he will never bear arms for the group again, as al-Shabaab is involved in torture, decapitations and murder.
"They would take me to violent clashes and assassinations and I would brag in front of girls in the cities," he said. "This is not true jihad. If they actually practice what they preach when it comes to jihad, why have the emir of al-Shabaab Ahmed Abdi Godane, the group's political spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage and Sheikh Fuad Mohamed Qalaf, who is in charge of advocacy and propaganda, not sought martyrdom?"
Yarow said al-Shabaab used to send him money to take care of his family, but the money was insufficient, which he said demonstrates the group's dwindling finances.
According to Said Sheikh Abdiweli, another dissident al-Shabaab fighter, conflict is raging among the group's senior leaders, which has resulted in many members being killed, caught in the crossfire of the group's internal conflict and mismanagement. The group has also executed its own members for allegedly spying for foreign governments.
Abdiweli told Sabahi that some of the fighters even killed wounded comrades by shooting them in the head during battles in Mogadishu, Hudur, Adale, Rama Adi, Diinsoor and the Dhuumale district.
"The situation has gotten worse among the radical militants, with dwindling revenues coming from robbery, kidnappings and looting cargo trucks," he said. "This is because the deployment of the Somali army, backed by AMISOM, has managed to take control and erect barriers, sealing off the area. The result has been economic stagnation [for al-Shabaab] in Lower Juba and Middle Juba."
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![Recently trained members of the Somali National Army ride in the back on a pick-up truck during a parade at an African Union Mission in Somalia training facility in Mogadishu. [Stuart Price/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2012/08/28/somalia-army-shabaab-340_227.jpg)
Recently trained members of the Somali National Army ride in the back
on a pick-up truck during a parade at an African Union Mission in
Somalia training facility in Mogadishu. [Stuart Price/AFP]
![Recently trained members of the Somali National Army ride in the back on a pick-up truck during a parade at an African Union Mission in Somalia training facility in Mogadishu. [Stuart Price/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2012/08/28/somalia-army-shabaab.jpg)
Rufle said dissidents carrying Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns peacefully turned themselves in to Somali forces in Afmadow after escaping al-Shabaab's ambushes.
"We expect further splinters and ideological divisions within the al-Shabaab structure, as some elements have expressed interest in surrendering and asked us for refuge from the takfiri traitors," he told Sabahi.
Backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Somali forces have started tightening the noose around the remaining militants by attacking al-Shabaab forces around Afmadow as it progresses towards the group's stronghold of Kismayo.
Over the past several weeks, allied forces have been bombing sites used by al-Shabaab and followers of al-Qaeda in Gedo and Lower Juba, according to the Somali army.
'Not true jihad'
As despair has set in on the al-Shabaab militants due to the allied forces' military success in Lower Juba, public dissention within the group is increasing.Former fighter Kamal Mohamed Yarow said al-Shabaab militants are nothing but ignorant mafia gang members who rob, loot and kill -- acts condemned by Islam. He said al-Shabaab's reputation is poor among the victimised Somali people, whose blood they have spilt and whose homes and businesses they have destroyed.
Yarow told Sabahi he will never bear arms for the group again, as al-Shabaab is involved in torture, decapitations and murder.
"They would take me to violent clashes and assassinations and I would brag in front of girls in the cities," he said. "This is not true jihad. If they actually practice what they preach when it comes to jihad, why have the emir of al-Shabaab Ahmed Abdi Godane, the group's political spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage and Sheikh Fuad Mohamed Qalaf, who is in charge of advocacy and propaganda, not sought martyrdom?"
Yarow said al-Shabaab used to send him money to take care of his family, but the money was insufficient, which he said demonstrates the group's dwindling finances.
According to Said Sheikh Abdiweli, another dissident al-Shabaab fighter, conflict is raging among the group's senior leaders, which has resulted in many members being killed, caught in the crossfire of the group's internal conflict and mismanagement. The group has also executed its own members for allegedly spying for foreign governments.
Abdiweli told Sabahi that some of the fighters even killed wounded comrades by shooting them in the head during battles in Mogadishu, Hudur, Adale, Rama Adi, Diinsoor and the Dhuumale district.
"The situation has gotten worse among the radical militants, with dwindling revenues coming from robbery, kidnappings and looting cargo trucks," he said. "This is because the deployment of the Somali army, backed by AMISOM, has managed to take control and erect barriers, sealing off the area. The result has been economic stagnation [for al-Shabaab] in Lower Juba and Middle Juba."
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