So that they can take up their cause again later. “Amnesty for Somalia’s Islamists,” from the BBC (thanks to all who sent this in):
Somalia’s government has given an amnesty to both the leaders and fighters of the Islamist movement ousted from power last December.
President Abdullahi Yusuf, however, said those with links to “international terrorist” groups were excluded.
The offer is seen as an attempt to persuade members of the Union of Islamic Courts to attend a national reconciliation conference next month.
The Islamists, however, insist that Ethiopian troops leave the country.
“All of them have been pardoned. Leaders and others, officers and those who took up arms or those who supported them financially have been pardoned,” said Justice Minister Hasan Bedel Warsame.