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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
World

Somalia names former al-Shabab spokesperson as religion minister

Muktar Robow Somalia Religion AlShabab
The previous government arrested Muktar Robow in December 2018 in Somalia's South West State as he campaigned for the regional presidency [File: Mokhtar Mohamed/AFP]

Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has named the country’s new cabinet, choosing former al-Shabab spokesperson Muktar Robow as a minister, a move that could either help strengthen the fight against the insurgency or provoke clan clashes.

In televised remarks on Tuesday, Barre said Robow, who once had a $5m United States bounty on his head before he split from al-Shabab in 2013, would serve as the minister in charge of religion.

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