MOGADISHU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) — 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 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.
