Somali insurgent leader Robow defects to government

Mukhtar Robow
Mukhtar Robow aka Abu Mansur
Mukhtar Robow aka Abu Mansur

Former Somali insurgent leader Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur has defected to the government, a military official said on Sunday, severing ties with Islamist group al Shabab two months after the U.S. quietly removed a $5 million reward for his capture.

“Robow and his seven bodyguards are now in Hudur with local officials. He will be flown to Mogadishu soon,” Colonel Nur Mohamed, a Somali military officer, told Reuters by phone from the southwestern town of Hudur.