Tuesday August 2, 2022
By: Mohammed Omar Ahmed and Mohamed Sheikh Nor
Mukhtar Robow Ali, also known as Abu Mansur, in Mogadishu in 2017. Photographer: Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images
Somalia appointed a former high-ranking fighter of an Islamist-militant group affiliated to al-Qaeda as head of religious affairs in a new cabinet.
Mukhtar Robow Ali, also known as Abu Mansur and who once had a $5 million US bounty on his head, is a former deputy leader of al-Shabaab, which has been waging an insurgency in the Horn of Africa nation for decades. He defected from the group in 2013 after a long-running dispute with its leader.
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre also appointed Elmi Mohamud as finance minister and Abdirisak Omar Mohamed to head Somalia’s petroleum ministry.