A former child soldier forced into al-Shabaab’s ranks has described a world where the only choice was ‘kill or be killed’. The UK government is now calling for an urgent global response to Somalia’s terror crisis.
Sources confirm the survivor, now in his twenties, was abducted at age 12 from a village in southern Somalia. For six years, he was trained to handle assault rifles, plant roadside bombs, and execute prisoners. ‘They told me if I refused, they would kill my family,’ he told this journalist through an interpreter. ‘And they would make me watch.’
The testimony comes as British officials push for a coordinated international effort to stem al-Shabaab's recruitment of children. Uncovered documents from the Foreign Office reveal that the number of child soldiers in Somalia has risen by 40% in the last three years, a trend linked to the group’s expanding control over rural areas.
‘The UK cannot stand by while children are turned into weapons,’ a Foreign Office spokesperson said. ‘We are calling on the UN Security Council to implement stronger sanctions against those who recruit minors and to fund rehabilitation programmes.’
The former soldier now lives in a camp for internally displaced persons near Mogadishu. He suffers from nightmares, flashbacks, and a deep mistrust of strangers. ‘Sometimes I still hear the orders,’ he said. ‘But I am trying to forget.’
Yet the road to recovery is lined with obstacles. Humanitarian workers say international funding for de-radicalisation and mental health support is woefully inadequate. ‘These children are victims, but they are also often seen as threats by their own communities,’ said a source close to the UN’s Somalia mission. ‘Without proper reintegration, they are vulnerable to being re-recruited.’
The UK’s call for action includes a proposal for a global fund specifically for former child soldiers, separate from general aid budgets. Critics, however, question whether Britain’s own arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other conflict zones undermine its moral authority.
‘It’s hard to take a country seriously when it profits from war while posing as a saviour of children,’ said a human rights investigator who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.
Back in the camp, the former soldier shows scars on his wrists from the ropes that bound him during ‘training’. He dreams of becoming a mechanic. ‘I want to fix things, not break them,’ he said. ‘But first, I need to fix myself.’
The UK’s initiative faces an uphill battle in a Security Council fractured by big-power rivalries. But for one survivor, the plea is simple: ‘Don’t let them take any more children. Please.’
