Somalia: School heads in trouble for meeting Al-Shabaab

BAIDOA, Somalia - A group of school principals are in trouble following their meeting with Al-Shabaab militants, officials have confirmed, with the government of Somalia now determined to seal all loopholes for the expansion of Al-Shabaab territories and minimize radicalization of youths.

Reports indicate that the principals, mainly from Baidoa, the regional administrative capital of Southwest state, will be prosecuted over relations to Al-Shabaab militants, to serve as "an example to those mixing matters of education and violent extremism" in the federal republic of Somalia.

Senior government officials warned that Somalia will not tolerate school heads who take orders from the Al-Shabaab militants. Authorities in Southwest State have detained a number of these principals who were sighted visiting the militants in areas they control within southern Somalia.

The militant group retaliated the detention of the principals by blocking trucks transporting commercial goods to Baidoa, a move that increased food and fuel prices. The blockades in Baidoa have been so severe that residents are now struggling to access food and other essentials.

Previously, the Al-Shabaab militants were conditioned to push for the introduction of the Arabic syllabus to the education system, a move that has been opposed by the Ministry of Education. The group is however determined to control schools across the country as a way of indoctrinating gullible masses.

The military courts will be responsible for prosecution of the school heads with the government emphasizing its commitment to liberate all parts of the country. In the coming weeks, the government through the Somali National Army will launch the second phase of operations against Al-Shabaab in Jubaland and Southwest.

Somalia is pushing for the elimination of the group that has caused deaths, injuries, and total economic sabotage for the last 16 years in the Horn of Africa nation. A multi-agency security approach has been adopted with the US Africa Command and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS].

GAROWE ONLINE