Al Shabab militants deny call for talks with Somalia’s government

Move comes after minister claimed extremists had asked for negotiations

The Somalia-based Al Shabab extremist group has denied having contact with the Somali government after the country’s deputy defence minister claimed that the extremists had for the first time asked to negotiate.

An Al Shabab official with the group’s media unit told a pro-Al Shabab website in comments published on Sunday that “there is no talk between us.”

On Saturday, Deputy Defence Minister Abdifatah Kasim told journalists in Mogadishu that “Al Shabab requested to open negotiations with the Somali government, but there are two groups within Al Shabab.”

He said Somali members of Al Shabab “have a chance to open up negotiations, but those foreigners who invaded our country have no right for talks. The only option is to return to where they are from.”

Reintegration of militants

Kasim added that “for the Somalis, we are ready to receive them, for they are willing to surrender to the Somali government. They must follow the government’s instructions, reintegrate with their society, or face the Somali National Army in the front lines.”

It was the first time Somalia’s federal government had claimed the extremist group had requested talks.

The comments came amid a military offensive the government launched last year and has described as “total war.”

Al Shabab is an Al Qaidaaffiliate that for well over a decade has carried out highprofile bombings in Somalia’s capital and controlled parts of the country’s central and southern regions, complicating efforts to rebuild the oncefailed state after decades of conflict.