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Mogadishu, November 28, 2009 – The gunfire outside
does not disturb them as they speak, explaining what led them to leave
behind their lives as Islamist fighters and defect to the side of
Somalia's weak transitional government.
One of them tells the AFP journalist interviewing him he would have
killed him if they had met a month earlier.
"If I'd met you in the street, I wouldn't have spared you," Mohamed
Sheikh Abdillahi said, only half smiling, his face distinct with finely
chiseled features and penetrating dark eyes.
Their accounts provide a window into the world of the Shabaab and Hezb
al-Islam, the two Islamist groups fighting the government, and it's
clear why the Somali presidency has arranged the interviews with them.
Officials want to show the Islamist groups have weakened and lost the
support of the population.
But the only thing it may demonstrate is just how ephemeral and complex
allegiances are in this Horn of Africa country, embroiled in a virtually
non-stop civil war since 1991.
The interview is conducted in a shady spot in the rocky gardens of Villa
Somalia, the headquarters of the transitional government and where
President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed spends his time holed up.
He is protected by Ugandan troops from AMISOM, the African peacekeeping
force largely responsible for propping up his government.
As the interview is underway, automatic weapons fire can be heard in the
distance. No one pays much attention as the sound is just normal
background noise here.
Mohamed says he began fighting in 2006 "to kick out the Ethiopian
invaders," but defected a month ago, "disgusted by the false
interpretations the Shabaab give of Islam".
"First I fought in the ranks of the Islamic Courts and that's where I
met the Shabaab," he said, referring to the Islamic Courts Union, which
took charge of much of the country in 2006. "They were very good
fighters."
Based in the south of the country, he said he took part in all the major
battles against pro-government forces in Mogadishu.
He says he met on several occasions the group's presumed chief, the
"Emir" Ahmed Abdi Godane. He also met numerous foreign volunteers who
came to fight alongside the Shabaab.
He remembers in particular two Americans, Abu Mansur al-Ameriki, made
famous in Islamist propaganda videos on the Internet, and Farouk al-Assadi,
whom he described as a "younger but better trained" fighter.
He estimated the number of these jihad fighters at around 400 and said
the majority "come from sub-Saharan Africa if you exclude Somalis from
the diaspora."
The Shabaab "have special units, who are trained separately in the
greatest secrecy to commit assassinations and suicide attacks".
According to Mohamed, such tactics were acceptable against the
Ethiopians, but can no longer be justified. Ethiopia invaded the country
for two years beginning in 2006 to end the advance by the Islamic Courts
Union.
Everything Mohamed says is punctuated by quotes from the Koran and the
fact that he wears his trousers rolled up above the ankle -- Wahhabi
style -- is proof of his religious fervour.
Abderahman Shuke Abdi Adowe, the other ex-fighter, said he commanded 19
Hezb al-Islam fighters and a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft
gun.
His eyes hidden behind dark glasses, Abderahman explains that two of his
men were killed by Shabaab.
"Our commanders said we couldn't take revenge so we decided to join the
government forces," he said.
Before that, one of his family members, a Hezb al-Islam commander, was
killed by the Shabaab as punishment for having escorted a UN convoy.
"If you don't want to fight anymore, there's no point. That's why I
quit," he said.
Neither man wants to mention which clan he belongs to, a crucial factor
in Somalia.
Both claim that despite the risk of reprisals from the groups to which
they used to belong, they want to fight the enemies of the government.
Source: AFP, Nov 24, 2009
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