Say What? US Has Indications Daesh, al-Shabaab Open to Reconciliation

Washington has "indications" that some Daesh and al-Shabaab terrorists are open to reconciliation, the AFRICOM commander said.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States has indications that Daesh West Africa and al-Shabaab terror groups could be open to reconciliation processes, US Africa Command head Gen. Thomas Waldhauser said in a briefing on Friday.

"In the al-Shabaab forest where many of the soldiers — whether it’s ISIS [Daesh] West Africa or al-Shabaab — these are young guys from these countries who just need a livelihood and need a job. Ideology is not the driver here," Waldhauser stated. "They want to reconcile, there’s already been indications that, through some of our efforts, they welcome the opportunity."

Somalia has been experiencing violence since the country devolved into civil war in the early 1990s. The state's collapse provided a breeding ground for warlords, pirates and the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab. The group has been staging numerous attacks in Somalia in an attempt to create an Islamic state ruled by Sharia law.

Daesh is a jihadist group which seized vast territories in Syria and Iraq, and has conducted major terrorist attacks across the globe. The Boko Haram extremist group began large-scale attacks in northeastern Nigeria in 2009. The extremist group pledged allegiance to Daesh in 2015, outlawed in Russia and many other countries, and has started calling itself Daesh West Africa. In 2015 the group expanded its attacks into neighboring Niger, Cameroon and Chad.