Albany Blog

Nearly two years ago al-Shabab fighters colluded with a Quranic teacher to kidnap 20 children from the Fagah area of north Mogadishu and conscripted the youths.  One of the children captured and forced to fight by the militant group was a 12-year-old who goes by the name Sharif.  He spoke to reporters in April at Mogadishu’s Villa Somalia Presidential Palace, where he now lives under the watchful eye of the AMISOM commander.  Sharif said al-Shabab often intoxicates its fighters, who are mostly under age. He showed journalists a swelling on his right bicep, where he said his al-Shabab handlers injected him with an unknown drug that supposedly gave him superhuman fighting powers.  Sharif’s military training began shortly after capture, he said, offering a full account of what happened in lengthy remarks transcribed below.

I used to live in Fagah area of Mogadishu with my parents and siblings. One day our Quranic teacher took us to his house to go and pray for a sick woman. As soon as we reached his house we were surrounded by masked al-Shabab armed men. They fired at us and a bullet hit close to the teacher’s legs. He fled and left us.

 

I don’t know exactly when they kidnapped us, but it was when Abdullahi Yusuf was still in power, some time six months before he left. The next day before we left I saw our Quranic teacher receiving money from al-Shabab officials presumably for delivering us to them. I think he was a swindler who took money in order to enlist us with al-Shabab. They took us to Modmodey, where we joined a larger group and were all taught rifle handling and shooting skills before deployment.

 

The training camp was big. They divided us into smaller groups. We started receiving military training. They taught us how to fire and service a rifle. We were taught everything from pistols to AK-47 rifles. I can dismantle and assemble any rifle. We are also taught ambush skills. After a few months we were deployed around the country. I was among those sent to Beletweyne.

 

In Beletweyne I took part in many battles, including the fighting against the Ahlul Sunnah group in the central regions. They kept rotating us after a few months. I was then deployed to Mogadishu. When I came to Mogadishu I only saw two out of my former 20 classmates who were kidnapped together. I don’t know where the others went. I believe they must have died.

 

The al-Shabab commanders always injected us with a drug before going out to fight. The drug gave us dreamlike bravery. I was so high and so strong I thought I could simply grab our enemies and throw them away like stones. It was not true and I lost many colleagues during these battles.

 

I have not spoken to or seen my parents since I was kidnapped. I fear that if I go and look for them the al-Shabab will find out and trace them to finish them off. A month ago, an older boy in my group secretly told us he had spoken to a government commander in the nearby district and was planning to escape. He had arranged everything with the commander.

 

When the day to escape finally came, we silently walked out pretending we were going for a routine patrol. We had to move out in groups of two to avoid suspicion. We finally reached the destination where we were supposed to be picked up. That’s how I got where I am now. I have been here for almost a month now.

 

In Villa Somalia, I don’t do anything. I eat and sleep with the AMISOM forces. The commander is a good person. He has been very kind to me. If there is anything I miss most and wish I could do it is to go to school. I just want to get an education.

By Guled Mohamed

Senior Press Officer AU/UN Information Support Team