Somalia Sees Increase in Children Recruited by Al-Shabaab

In the past few years, there has been a surge in the Somali children fighting alongside Al-Shabaab after they were brainwashed. Some recruits are under 13 years, per the sources.

News Keydmedia Online
9 November 2021

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Forced recruitment of child soldiers is increasing in Somalia by both the military and the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terrorist group, Keydmedia has learned.

Despite pressure by the United Nations and child rights groups, the country’s children are still remained vulnerable and unprotected to join the warring sides due to the lawlessness.

In the past few years, there has been a surge in the Somali children fighting alongside Al-Shabaab after they were brainwashed. Some recruits are under 13 years, per the sources.

Keydmedia investigation revealed that the group lures the teenagers with the teaching of the Qur’an to recruit in their strongholds in southern Somalia but end up in the training camps.

Some recruited children join Amniyat, the Intelligence wing of Al-Shabaab, and are being sent to government-controlled areas to carry out assassinations and gather secret information.

The group has accelerated the forced recruitment of children in the past three years, seeking to boost their numbers before they move into the battlefronts against Somali and AU troops.

Child recruitment is currently rampant in the Middle Juba region, where Al-Shabaab has a strong presence. The group has been at war with the government for the past 10 years.

KEYDMEDIA English