Al-Shabab militants surrender to government forces – officials

[Deeq A.]

Somali officials on Monday confirmed that two al-Shabab militants surrendered to government forces on Sunday in the southern Bay region.

“The two al-Shabab operatives identified as Mohamed Hassan Osman and Hussein Marshale Mohamed defected from the al-Shabab extremist group and joined government forces in Dinsor town in Bay region,” said Ibrahim Mohamed Nour, governor of Dinsor.

The two-handed their weapons over to government forces, Nour added.

Welcoming the former militants, the governor also urged other al-Shabab militants to follow suit and give up fighting to help restore peace in the region.

On July 10, another senior al-Shabab leader surrendered to government forces in Lower Juba, another region in southern Somalia.

Somali government troops have been on major offensives against al-Shabab extremists in central and southern regions, but the militants still hold swaths of territory in those regions, conducting ambushes and roadside bomb attacks.

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