Washington Special Report: Al-Shabaab fighters defecting

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Insurgents are leaving al-Shabaab in Somalia because the organization is operating in contradiction to the teachings of Islam, a terrorism monitor finds.

Members of al-Shabaab are leaving the al-Qaida affiliate in favor of backing the transitional government or fleeing the country, a report from Washington think tank The Jamestown Foundation states.

Al-Shabaab is waging war against the transitional Somali government in an effort to set up an Islamic state in the Horn of Africa.

The Jamestown Foundation notes the Somali government in December showed six al-Shabaab deserters who said they left the militant group because the organization was violating Islamic law.

Somalia hasn't had a functioning government since 1991 and is one of the most corrupt nations in the world. The transitional government controls only a small fraction of the war-torn country.

The U.S. State Department in a travel advisory warned that Somali militants are intent on kidnapping and killing foreigners, posing a direct threat to U.S. citizens in the area.

The warning noted that "lines of control" in the Somali capital are unclear, adding relief workers and other foreigners are often the target of terrorist attacks.

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