Bossaso, Puntland (HOL) - The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIL) began recruiting fighters in Puntland according to parent, family members and other relatives who live in Bossasso. The parents and relatives interviewed by HOL said that their children were forcibly taken by ISIS recruiters operating in the region.
Around 40 children mostly under the age of 18 went missing since Friday and a group of smugglers have been reportedly registering new fighters who will fight along ISIL jihadists in Syria and Iraq.
In an interview with HOL Hodan Farah Osman, 37, said that her young son was abducted by anonymous people working for ISIL on early Sunday morning while on his way to College.
“We have informed Puntland authorities and my son Jibriil Hamud was 18 and he was studying at PIDAM College. In fact they brain washed him I think,“ a distraught Hodan Faarah Osman said over a telephone interview.
Accounts from local residents in Sanaag region suggest that a boat carrying around 40 snatched children approached at Dur-duri shore near Laasqoray port on Friday, making this the first of its kind in northern Somalia.
“My son contacted me through phone and said we are out of option, we are asking Puntland president to address this and return our children to us,” she said. "At least four phone calls to security minister Abdi Hersi Qarjab went unanswered." she added
For the past four years Somalia’s Al-Qaeda linked group of Al-shabab who are based in Gal-gala rigid hills have been waging guerrilla style attacks against the state forces of Puntland. This abduction of Somali young people to fight in the trouble spots of the Middle East for ISIL is a concern that all parents shared and would like immediate action to tackle.
