HARGEISA– Somaliland military court sitting in Hargeisa has on Sunday handed nineteen years in prison to a member of Al-Shabab.

According to a statement from Somaliand’s Ministry of Defence posted on Facebook, Feisal Ali Ibrahim aged 42 was found guilty of having links with the outlawed militant group by the 1st- degree court.

Security forces in the self-declared autonomous State have recently published reports of people suspected of having connection with Al-Shabab who have been arrested by the police though it was not immediately clear if Feisal was part of them.

In January 2022, Somaliland’s authorities executed six men for murder in Mandera Prison. Two of the convictees were accused of being Al-Shabab members.

Al-Shabaab has not launched large-scale attack in Somaliland since 2008 when it laid ambush on the presidential palace, the Ethiopian consulate, and UNDP offices in Hargeisa.

According to analysts, the peace and stability witnessed in Somaliland has been credited to the government that exerted its consistent control over most of its territory.