Terror group Al-Shabaab has asked the Somali government to start negotiations, the Somali government claims on Saturday, according to the AP news agency. It would be the first time that the Muslim extremists want to have a dialogue. Al-Shabaab itself has not yet confirmed the request.
The Somali government is partly open to the request, AP quotes Somali Defense Minister Abdifatah Kasim: “There are two groups within Al-Shabaab, Somalis and foreigners. The locals are allowed to open negotiations, but the foreigners who have invaded our country have no right to talk.”
Al-Shabaab, related to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, has been trying to gain power in Somalia for about fifteen years. This led to civil wars and a long series of terrorist attacks. Last Wednesday, at least 35 people were killed in a double suicide bombing in the Somali province of Hiran.
According to AP, Kasim immediately made clear what the government’s commitment is: “We are prepared to receive them if they want to surrender to the Somali government. They must follow government instructions and reintegrate into society, or face the Somali army on the front line.”
Turned down
Attempts at negotiations have so far failed, according to several analysts. Harmonie Toros and Stephen Harley write in the book War and Peace in Somalia that there have been talks with precursors of the terrorist movement or with other organizations, but that Al-Shabaab has always rejected requests for negotiations from the government. When former president Abdullahi Mohamed made a proposal, Al-Shabaab is said to have responded with heavier attacks. His successor Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also unsuccessfully asked for talks, AP writes.
According to the think tank Crisis Group negotiations have so far failed to get off the ground because Al-Shabaab rejected them or because the Somali government tried to force members of the group to defect. In addition, many Somalis would not want to talk because of the bloody attacks.
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