MOGADISHU, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- A senior member of the militant group al-Shabab on Thursday surrendered to government forces in the Bakool region, southwestern Somalia, the military said.
The militant, identified as Yarow Hassan Aden, handed himself over to the 51st division of the Somali National Army (SNA), SNA commander in the region, Derow Abdi Ali, told journalists.
"The militant gave himself up and laid down his weapon and he informed us he was ready to assist government forces in their fight against al-Shabab extremists," the commander said, adding that the defected militant is in the hands of National Security and Intelligence Agency.
The former senior al-Shabab leader said he was misguided in joining the terrorists.
"I have found out that al-Shabab has deviated from the right path and they are fighting to harm Somali people so I decided to quit that wrong ideology," Aden said.
He called on other al-Shabab members to follow suit.
