Kenyan Al Shabaab recruit commits suicide

A Kenyan linked to the Al Shabaab has been found dead at a camp in Jilib.

The body of Abdi Kimani was found dangling inside a house which accommodates new foreign recruits.

Sources say Kimani ended his life after staying in the camp for three weeks.

Kimani happens to be the third out of 5 foreign recruits who are said to have committed suicide in the past. An unknown number reportedly escaped.

It is alleged that the foreign fighters are given ‘unrealistic’ expectations when they arrive at the camp.

The conditions are apparently so unbearable that a large number of foreign fighters will attempt to escape in the first few weeks of recruitment.

“Those who joined recently are mostly affected after joining the militia who use intensive and invasive training techniques such as flooding,” one of the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Flooding is a psycho-therapeutic technique used to treat phobia and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Wikipedia. It works by exposing the patient to their painful memories, with the goal of reintegrating their repressed emotions with their current awareness.

The source added that in the past one week, a Tanzanian recruit only identified as Amina, killed herself after claims that several militants had sexually assaulted her.

“She spent whole morning groaning and screaming saying that she wanted a doctor. But no one came to her aid and after the cries went silent at around midday, she was found dead,” he told Citizen TV.

Unconfirmed reports from the Al Shabaab camp in Afmadhow, say another two female recruits had attempted to commit suicide over rape allegations.

The two were however subjected to severe lashing by the militants as punishment for an attempted murder.

Recruits suicide cases are a recent phenomenon since Al Shabaab are mostly known for public executions of those suspected to be spying for the Somalia and Kenyan governments or the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces.