Puntland said there are no special centers for the rehabilitation of young prisoners who defect from or are captured by Al-Shabaab and ISIS.
Puntland’s Minister of Justice, Mohamed Abdiwahaab Ahmed, who appeared before the Puntland Parliament, said that these youths are being held in regular prisons in Puntland, due to the security threat they pose.
The minister noted that young people belonging to Al-Shabaab and ISIS are highly trained, and are among the most dangerous fighters. He said that these people cannot be kept in special centers or regular houses, as according to him they are a great threat to public security.
“The people who are being rehabilitated are militants, who have military training, professionals. One of them is capable of fighting five soldiers. Some of them are murderers who have killed 20 people, while others are capable of making bombs. They are not people who can be kept in regular houses,” said the Minister of Justice.
The minister’s statement came after some members of the Puntland Parliament inspected some prisons, where they saw former members of Al-Shabaab and ISIS. The MPs said that these prisoners need special rehabilitation centers.
In 2018, at least 10 Al-Shabaab prisoners escaped from a rehabilitation center in Garowe. The prisoners were among those captured during the 2016 Suuj and Garmaal battles, most of whom were very young.
