Somalia: US delists Ex-Al Shabaab intelligence official

MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 8, 2015 (Garowe Online)-The United States of America on Sunday delisted former Al Shabaab intelligence official Sakariye Ismail Hirsi, prompting a welcoming statement by Somalia Federal government, Garowe Online reports.

Hirsi surrendered to Somali government forces in Gedo on December 27, 2014, and announced that he renounced terror ideology during a press briefing in Mogadishu on January 27-exactly a month after he decided to hand himself in.

The delisted defector had a falling out with former Al Shabaab Chief Ahmed Abdi Godane who ordered his death squad to kill a handful of ranks within the beleaguered group, including Hirsi.

The man held key posts-notably East Africa intelligence boss, regional governor and mobilizer general.

In 2012, US put USD 3 million bounties on the head of several Al Shabaab officials including Hirsi.

On December 20, 2014 United Nations Security Council removed the commander of Al Shabaab fighters in Galgala, Mohamed Saed Atom from sanctions list on the grounds of peace embracing.

Atom officially defected to Mogadishu-based central government on June 7, 2014.

Somalia government called on Al Shabaab members to make more defections and join the on-going peace building efforts.

For the first time in the history of the country’s shattered military, UN-backed central government unveiled that it would use drones in the fight against Al Qaeda’s largest franchise in the Horn of Africa.

GAROWE ONLINE