Somalia’s embattled government offered amnesty Tuesday to Islamist rebels in the war-torn capital as its soldiers tried to open up emergency aid access for thousands hit by famine. Fresh gunfire was reported in Mogadishu early Tuesday after sporadic clashes between troops of the Western-backed transitional government and remnants of the Shebab rebels following their surprise pull-out on Saturday.
The government “offered a general amnesty to insurgent fighters remaining in Mogadishu who give themselves up and renounce violence,” it said in a statement. “We offer an amnesty — put down your weapons and your guns, and come and join the people and your society,” government spokesman Abdirahman Osman said. “For those who have been misled by the senior commanders, now is the time to end the war,” he added.
