Two Al-Shabaab militants surrender to gov’t forces in southern Somali 

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

“The two Al-Shabaab operatives identified as Mohamed Hassan Osman and Hussein Marshale Mohamed defected from Al-Shabaab 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-Shabaab militants to follow suit and give up fighting to help restore peace in the region.

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

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

Xinhuanet