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Somalia offers al-Shabab members
amnesty
3 September 2014 Last updated at 12:53
Al-Shabab has carried out a wave of bombings
and assassinations
Somalia's government has offered an amnesty to
fighters of Islamist group al-Shabab, amid
uncertainty over whether its leader survived a US
air strike.
The militants would be reintegrated into society if
they surrendered over the next 45 days, a
statement said.
The offer seems to be an attempt to exploit the
vulnerability of al-Shabab following the air strike,
analysts say.
Al-Shabab has refused to say whether its leader
Ahmed Abdi Godane survived.
The strike took place on Monday as Godane was
travelling in a convoy in southern Somalia's Lower
Shabelle region.
'False pretext'
Witnesses said US troops landed at the site soon
after the strike and took away bodies after a fierce
gun battle, reports the BBC Somali Service's
Abdullahi Abdi.
The 22,000-member AU force in Somalia is
pushing al-Shabab into rural areas in the south
The Somali government's amnesty offer appears to
be a political initiative aimed at encouraging
defections from al-Shabab, he says.
The group is under pressure militarily - not only
has it faced a US air assault, but African Union
(AU) and government troops have launched a
ground offensive to recapture territory, our
reporter adds.
Al-Shabab has lost control of four towns in the
past week, with AU and government forces now
advancing towards the coastal town of Barawe, the
main base of the militants, he says.
However, the
government faces the
risk of its amnesty
offer backfiring as al-
Shabab fighters take it
up under the false
pretext that they have
changed when, in fact,
they want to regroup
in government
strongholds to
continue their military
campaign for an
Islamic state, our
correspondent adds.
On Tuesday, al-Shabab spokesman Abu
Mohammed told AP news agency that six of its
fighters were killed in the US air strike, about
240km (150 miles) south of the capital,
Mogadishu.
He said Godane's convoy was on its way to
Barawe, but he refused to confirm whether the
group's leader was among the victims.
Our correspondent says it could take the US a long
time to conclude DNA tests on the bodies it had
taken.
Following an air strike in 2011, it took the US
about a month to confirm that it had killed al-
Qaeda operative Fazul Mohammed.
Godane led al-Shabab into an alliance with al-
Qaeda in 2009.
A US air strike killed his predecessor Aden Hashi
Ayro a year earlier.
The AU's 22,000-strong force in Somalia has
helped the government regain major towns and
cities from al-Shabab.
However, the group still controls large swathes of
territory in rural areas and continues to carry out
bombings and assassinations in Mogadishu.
It is estimated to have at least 5,000 fighters.

how can a lawful country give Amnesty to Terrorist group ?

What should they do,fight them forever ? Abi kill everybody? Abi jail them? Its timely and if anything it could at least isolate the core fighters from misguided folks. that just realized there mistakes!!!
The ultimate thing in battle is break the enemies will to fight not exterminate everyone. If not Germans for no exist now. After much they have turn a new leaf.

Did they also change religion?
You expect a leopard to change spots