Somalia lays out work plan for rehabilitation of ex-militants

MOGADISHU, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Somalia and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have set out a detailed work plan on integrating and rehabilitating converts from violent opposition groups.

Somali Defector Rehabilitation Program (DRP) said on Friday its priority plans include defector disarmament and community engagement at local level, training and technical support for the DRP.

The DRP also plans to include network building, financing and resource mobilization, advocacy and monitoring, establishing proper communication and reporting network, creation of defector rehabilitation database, and outreach.

"AMISOM has taken a lot of time to ensure we take advantage of what they have been teaching us," DRP director Cabdirashiid Ibrahim Maxamed said in a statement issued in Mogadishu at the end of a five-day meeting aimed at countering violent extremism and the processes of reintegrating Al-Shabaab defectors.

The DRP works with AMISOM to screen defectors, and is supported by the country's National Intelligence Service (NISA).

During the meeting, participants discussed political reintegration, radicalization processes and approaches, financing and resource mobilization, disarmament processes, profiling and eligibility criteria for DRP.

Maxamed had earlier said 2,000 defectors had already been successfully reintegrated into society since the program began in 2011.

The program revolves around outreach, reception of the defectors, screening, rehabilitation and reintegration.

"You can understand the risk they can cause if not well integrated," Ibrahim said, in reference to Al-Shabaab ex-combatants and other armed groups. Enditem