Controversial Somaliland cleric confirms he has joined Al-Shabaab

GOOBJOOG NEWS/KISMAYO: Sheikh Adan Abdirahman Warsame (Sunne), one of Somaliland’s most prominent clerics, has announced that he had indeed fled Hargeisa, confirming previous reports by Somaliland authorities that he had gone missing in recent weeks.

In an interview with BBC Somalia today, Sunne said he had joined the Al- Shabaab group after discerning the infiltration of a “foreign” religion into the semi-autonomous region of Somalia.

“I came out of Hargeisa with my family and in my home country I was a cleric who was involved in the cause of Islam and Islamic education. I am now in a part of my country, Somalia, especially in the Islamic provinces. I am roaming through the 11 provinces controlled by Al-Shabaab,” said Sheikh Adan Sunne.

The Somaliland government recently announced that the prominent cleric had fled Somaliland to southern Somalia where he is suspected to have joined the Al-Shabaab militant group.

Sunne’s revelation comes amid reports that the U.S. State Department of Justice has offered a $ 5 million bounty for information on a key Al-Shabaab official, a former California resident, for involvement in attacks in Somalia and Kenya.