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Minnesota Men Who Joined al-Shabab Now Remorseful

Harun Maruf

   More than a decade ago, some 20 young Somali-Americans shocked their
   families when they left behind jobs and schools and returned to their
   native Somalia to join jihadist group al-Shabab. Now at least two of
   them have defected, and say their deadly adventure ruined their future.

   Ahmed Ali Omar and Abdulkadir Ali Abdi left al-Shabab 16 months ago,
   but are now hiding in the Somali capital, afraid of being hunted down
   by the group's assassins.

   In an exclusive interview the two men gave to the VOA Somali program
   Investigative Dossier, Omar says he would have been killed or jailed if
   he stayed with the group.

   "They found out we were going against their extremist, rigid views and
   they were plotting to arrest us," he said.

   Investigative Dossier confirmed Omar's and Abdi's defections with
   government officials and other defectors. The two men are now living in
   a house provided by the Somali government's National Intelligence and
   Security Agency.

   Omar sounded remorseful in the over one-hour phone interview conducted
   last week. He said their future is ruined but wants to warn others from
   joining jihadist groups.

   "We are expressing our opinion so that the problem we faced doesn't
   happen to other young Somali youth," he said. "We can be an example, so
   that they don't get brainwashed and their heads turned around in the
   same way they did to us, so that their future is not jeopardized, so
   that they take advantage of the opportunities they have."

   Turning point

   Omar said there were a series of incidents that turned him and Omar
   against al-Shabab.

   The last was the truck bomb explosion at a Mogadishu Zobe's
   intersection on Oct. 14, 2017, that killed at least 587 people and
   injured hundreds more. The attack is the single largest terrorist
   attack in African history.

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