Ex Senior Al-Shabaab Leader Urges Militants to Leave Group

A one-time deputy leader of Somali Islamist militants al-Shabaab called on Tuesday for others to quit the group following his defection to the government side in Mogadishu.Mukhtar Robow, who was also al-Shabaab’s spokesman, said the group did not represent the interests of those it claimed to.
“I left al-Shabaab because of misunderstanding, and I disagreed with their creed which does not serve Islamic religion, people and the country,” he said. Robow fell out with al-Shabaab in 2013, keeping a low profile in the jungles with his forces until defecting on Saturday. The Islamists have launched multiple attacks to try kill or capture him. “I urge the militants to leave al Shabaab,” Robow told reporters at a heavily guarded hotel in Mogadishu. He took no questions.
The group still remains a formidable threat and frequently carries out bombings both in Mogadishu and other towns against both military, African union forces and civilian targets.