Shebabs in Somalia [1/3]: a deserter testifies
Audio 02:01
Entrance to the base of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia, Baidoa, Somalia.
© RFI / Florence Morice
By: Florence Morice Follow
2 min
Over the past two years, in the midst of the political crisis in Somalia, they have regained ground.
The Shebabs continue to attack, impose their law in the areas they control and recruit, sometimes by force.
Testimony of a young deserter of 22 years after a year in the ranks of the shebabs.
His first name has been changed for security reasons.
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From our special correspondent in Baidoa, in southwestern Somalia,
It was while visiting his family in the village of Berdale in the south of Baidoa that Abdullahi was recruited by the shebabs. He was not 20 years old: “
They have teams that mobilize young people. And they get their messages across to your family or friends. This is how I was told that if I agreed to become a driver for the shebabs, I would earn a lot of money. And I was promised that I would not fight.
"
Unemployed and pushed by some of his relatives worried about the reaction of the Shebabs in case of refusal, Abdullahi accepts: “
I had no freedom of movement. I couldn't phone when I wanted to. At night, I was forbidden to turn on the headlights of the car, because they feared the bombardments. We sometimes spent whole nights hiding in the bush. I felt pressured.
"
Instead of the promised $ 400 per month, Abdullahi is paid $ 100.
And finally finds himself with a gun in his hand: “
One day I was driving and they ordered me to park, take a gun and participate in the war.
I was shocked because I had not received any training.
I did not know what to do.
And what shocked me the most was seeing a fighter get shot and die in front of my eyes.
"
Fear of retaliation
Only once did Abdullahi have to take up arms, but he still dreams of it.
A year after his recruitment, the young man manages to escape and joins Baidoa.
Now he fears reprisals: “
I feel in danger.
Because when someone deserts the shebabs, most of the time, he becomes a target: they try to find him.
Sometimes to reassure myself, I tell myself that I was just a driver, that I did not have a lot of information and was not very involved.
But I can't trust anyone anymore.
"
After training as an electrician in a rehabilitation center, Abdullahi now works as a taxi.
But he refuses shopping outside the city, in areas where shebabs operate.
He believes he will never be safe again unless he leaves his country.
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Africa
Somalia
Shebabs
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