this is d.w. news live from berlin the struggle to rehabilitate fighters from one of the world's most violent militant groups they've terrorized somalia for years killing many innocent people but now some al-shabaab terrorists are being offered a chance to leave the group and rejoin society spoke exclusively to some former militants trying to come to terms with their violent past also coming up pro-democracy activists in hong kong fear their situation could get worse as police announce the arrest of dozens of people after demonstrators ransacked the

parliament earlier this week. plus drama and heartache as another wins and sweden go into extra time at the women's world cup we'll go to the host city leon france for all the highlights. i'm sumi so much going to thank you for joining us. the somali terrorist group al shabaab has been waging a campaign of violence in somalia for more than a decade their aim is to replace the un backed government and impose islamic law and african union force has managed to seize back control of many cities including the capital mogadishu but al shabaab still control around 20 percent of the country to weaken the organization the government is offering amnesty to some militants who leave al-shabaab now some of these defectors are in we have all the taishan centers

melanie cord the ball was given rare access to one site she spoke to some former militants about why they decided to leave al-shabaab and the nightmares they still have. that they were part to fit killing machine terrorizing somalia's population but now they're asking for forgiveness this facility in juba land it's home to 86 young men who used to fight for one of the deadliest islamist extremist groups in the world. here in southern somalia in a town once under siege by al-shabaab a program is being implemented to rehabilitate extremist fighters with the hope of peacefully reintegrating them into society. the former fighters here mostly men aged between 25 and 29 have been granted amnesty and are seeking a 2nd chance 2 of them are willing to share why they decided to defect. for their

safety and security we have withheld the location and real identities by calling them and that. he said i was just 15 years old when he joined the group 5 years ago but the warden book could be you know at 1st people join because a religion they say that promoting religion but this is just a front actually killing innocent people for no reason or to fight in this could be . similarly who joined us above at the age of 16 to commit a deist escape from the group. if they also killed muslims in that attack when i saw my people dying i decided i had to break away had been. through so. many men growing up in disenfranchised and poor parts of the country been led into joining us about for financial reasons and a sense that belonging. to address this these men now receive occasional training and hands on group classes. i did not know how to live within

society i learned that here i've learned how to support myself. but many here are still haunted by nightmare as they struggle to fathom what they were capable of such trying. to 70 kilometers away from this now peaceful town peacekeepers mandated by the african union are still waging a war against the militant group. but there. is a wheel that father walk and liberated several areas in the past 2 or 3 months. we are also working on a plan to liberate the areas still under the control of al-shabaab and hand them over to the somali army. back at the rehab and taishan facility these young men receive professional psychological support. but above all it's companionship and leisure time that are

helping them to overcome that trauma. but we can talk to each other about all the things we've done wrong and give each other support about how to fall back into our destructive ways. for somalia a hope for the birth of a united government and for my life i hope to work for the benefit of my country and for my people with their new skill it's meant to intend to make a positive contribution to society again. i hope other young people. stick of joining up with the post. reported that story for us from somalia she joins us for more from nairobi now hi melanie are these rehabilitation programs successful these programs successful overwhelming need those who partake in these programs do graduate successfully and reintegrate into society it's impossible to get nationwide numbers

on how many people have been leaving al-shabaab because it's a country at war but when it comes to this facility almost 300. just have been in rehab and taishan and they have been able all our about to go back into their societies and settle in their communities the government does give amnesty grant amnesty to everyone who decides to leave the group so there is an incentive but of course it's incredibly difficult to do so if the group makes it incredibly hard to the people i've spoken to in the city they told me that they were born numerous times that if they did leave they would have a lethal violence coming that way and that's why we had to hide their identities but they also hopeful that by telling their stories they can inspire others to do the same so these fighters are rehabilitated they rejoin their communities but how do somali people feel about these programs given their experiences with al-shabaab

. the many people i have spoken to really gave me the impression that they believe it's an absolute necessity that programs and amnesty such as this one exist in some on yet it's the only way to pave the way to peace if the only way to get rid of al-shabaab we went to a city which has been liberated from a few years ago it's a place where people slowly coming back brittany's refugees coming back to the city it's coming back to life in tiny displaced somalis settling in the area and they told me the stories that they will women telling me about how they lost their husbands how they were on the run for years how they're still not able to go back to their villages because they are under control from al-shabaab and listening to these stories it's really impossible not to feel their fear and their pain there is no such thing as safety yet but there is hope and programs like this one really do

give the people hope that on the other hand melanie as we mentioned al-shabaab still controls around a 5th of the country how has this group managed to maintain its grip on so much of the country. despite long growing combat operations by the african union and somali security forces does indeed still hold large swathes of the country especially in the area of course it's known to be using indiscriminate violence against the somali population but it's also known to be able to generate revenue to look off to its fighters and their families financially and to provide services for the somali population that many have to turn to in the absence of strong state institutions so in a country suffering from drought poverty is really drawing out about withdrawing its power from from the desperation of the people the power comes from the weakness of the state. melanie reporting for us thank you very much.

now the u.n. security council has held an emergency session after the bombing of a refugee center in libya killed at least 40 people but the council failed to agree on a joint statement in response to the attack some diplomat said the u.s. was to blame for the impasse but it wasn't immediately clear why washington could not support the statement earlier the u.n. said the airstrike could amount to a war crime putting together the pieces this woman once dreamed of a better life she couldn't have imagined she'd end up here you know shattered migrant detention center surrounded by the dead. and these people are the lucky ones the survivors of tuesday's bombing although they have little left and even now they're caught between warring armies far from their homes whether in

sudan or somalia. it happened at night a fighter plane dropped a bomb on a center filled with hundreds of people come in the chaos people began recovering bodies the heavy death toll as grim as it was predictable. the u.n. has demanded an independent investigation into the strike. the libyan people have been suffering especially those around tripoli as we've saying and now we've seen yet another case of migrants and refugees. being on the front lines of death and destruction in what is clearly i mean and any of these attacks or unacceptable but to see. to see this sort of attack is really almost

beyond words. on wednesday the u.n. security council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors but it failed to agree on a statement condemning the attack after the u.s. said it 1st needed approval from washington before the ambassador could sign even before the airstrike the center of tar juna in a suburb of tripoli had been a disaster in the making another bomb landed nearby in may rights group amnesty international said taras forces carried out the attack as they moved on tripoli. the migrants into giora are among 3 and a half 1000 the un has warned are in detention centers located near libya's battle front weeks ago migron said a different center protested an increasingly dangerous situation. and 2 out of no. collision last year and before and today so we need evocation now.

our gentility we need. since then the fighting in libya has only added meanwhile migrants continue to wait and hope not knowing what will happen next. let's get a roundup now of some other stories making news around the world the german captain of the migrant rescue ship sea watch 3 has been moved to a secret location after she received threats on tuesday an italian court released. days after she was arrested for defying authorities by docking her ship on the island of lampedusa. an australian student has been released from detention in north korea alex simply flew to beijing airport where he told reporters he was feeling very good simply went missing more than a week ago in pyongyang where he was studying korean literature. and officials in honduras say at least $27.00 people have died after a fishing boat capsized off the country's eastern coast near the tiny island of that dozens were rescued from the vessel but there are still several people

unaccounted for it's not clear what caused the accident. residents in several northern german villages have started to return home after a large forest fire forced them to evacuate the blaze on a former military training doubt were around it was the biggest the region had ever seen firefighters had a hard time containing the flames they feared that the fire could trigger unexploded munitions. it took a joint effort by firefighters the police and the army plus a little help from the weather to finally get this forest fire in northern germany under control the situation is now calmer in the community of libertine thanks in large part to the firefighting helicopters battling this blaze has been particularly difficult because the fire broke out in the middle of a military training ground we know that there could be about 45 tons of munitions

here on the ground for every square kilometer of forest and that of course gives us a pretty squeamish feeling. tanks have been clearing wide paths through this forest they are heavily armored vehicles so the crews don't have to worry about unexploded munitions the tanks allowed fire engines to access the center of the forest so they could then put out the blaze. the emergency crews have now stopped the fire from spreading. to guys enjoy their work and it's clear when you see them in action they very aware of how dangerous this work can be but they're very experienced. people are now returning to the area after several villages were evacuated in the last few days more than $1000.00 residents were forced to leave their homes this is the biggest forest fire this part of northeast in germany has ever seen. and.

has the latest on the situation in detain. we are now in the middle of the forest where the military has put out these passages these fire breaks separating the villages from the flames still several 100 hectares of a burning here in the teen but the situation seems to be under control however the team is not the only place that is contaminated with ammunition a total of $30000.00 hectares of forest than to have explosives in the ground the call for action is getting louder the politicians have yet to react now some other headlines from around the world in italy a fresh eruption on one of the country's most active volcanoes has killed one person and injured several others the victims were hiking towards the summit of mt stromboli when the eruption struck local media say some tourists jumped into the sea to escape the blast. a massive tornado west swept through northeastern china

killing at least 6 people and injuring 200 others the twister knocked out power and damaged thousands of buildings city officials say hundreds have been rescued from damaged structures. more than 1000000 people have been ordered to leave their homes in southern japan due to flooding and mudslides caused by torrential rain more rain is expected to hit wider regions of the country including tokyo. in hong kong a proto marker see lawmaker has warned there could be more violent demonstrations in the territory after police announce more than a dozen arrests authorities have vowed to hunt down protesters who stormed hong kong's legislative council on monday over an extradition bill that could see suspects sent to mainland china for try police have also arrested pro-democracy protesters who try to disrupt a ceremony marking the anniversary of hong kong's return from britain to china. now

ahead of another demonstration planned for sunday did you met some young hong kong hours who are documenting the protest movement. sampson wong is looking for the last traces of the protest as demonstrators retreat their messages are disappearing as well one considers himself an archivist of the movement i find it. the 1st special way to look at the car. for weeks protesters used this wall adjacent to the hong kong government's offices to leave messages for each other shortly before authorities started to clear the area wong and some fellow demonstrators stepped in to retrieve the messages. a large fortune of all the messages about the solidarity of all citizens that this act so. there is a kind of warfare and community spirit of the protest. one of the most vocative

remnants a memorial corner for a number of demonstrators who killed themselves during the movement news that shook many hong kong residents. the protests are subsiding leaving many despondent several suicide threats online have a lot of firefighters and volunteers who have been out all day to prevent further attempts by a lot of the people participating in this political movement by the most. awful awful fuck you think i could think of that i samson wong has been walking around the scene of monday's clashes police have sealed off the entrance to the legislative council several people have been arrested. i think it's ironic to. the creativity of the whole home people since he treated there so our evidence for prosecuting that now. much

more than glass of the government building was shattered the hopes of protesters are in a similar state. kung and mighty s billing of reporting there to sports now and add to the women's soccer world cup and the netherlands have secured their spot in sunday's final against defending champions the u.s. the european champions were pushed to the limit by sweden but prevailed thanks to a goal in extra time i the 2nd semifinal in 2 days in leo started with more crunching tackles than clear cut chances i say go quick to close down vivyan a medium are here both sides could have scored in the 2nd half but both keepers fiercely defended their goals i sweden's neil official was denied by a finger tip saved from sorry 5 veneman doll at one end before a bullet headed for

a metre mark was met by an equally impressive stop from heydrich lindahl the other i. ultimately neither team was able to breakthrough in 90 minutes in extra time though a superhero from distance shattered the day i jackie grew with her 1st ever world cup goal sending the netherlands into their 1st ever world cup final. no chance for keeper lindo no way back for her side only the mighty us now stand in the netherlands way. oliver moody founded of you sports is in the over he's been following the women's world cup for us good morning ali what did you think of the 2nd semifinal. well we were really spoiled with the 1st semifinal between the u.s. and england you know that was a game that really had everything in it the 2nd semifinal did not live up to those standards really it was quite a drop 90 minutes before we went to extra time both teams were playing quite

defensive football and that didn't really give the quality attacking players a chance to shine and also i think many of them just went on for because that's all aside from the goal itself that was a moment of real quality jackie grown in there latching on to a loose ball outside the box and firing home i thought it was a really well taken strike and actually it was a moment that sitting there in the stands watching it made me think why couldn't we have seen more moments like this and in this game there are quality players on both sides and. if anything kind of made the the rest of the match look worse but ultimately the netherlands got them into the final and that's all that counts and now the dutch have to face the defending champions the u.s. do they have a chance in their 1st world cup final. they do have a chance but you would have to think it's going to be a slim chance they're going to have to play a whole lot better than they did against sweden in the semifinal and particular an

attack they're going to have to be be much better much quicker at playing the ball forward than they were gets when if they go in if they're going to trouble the u.s. back line they're going to be sweating i think on the fitness of the former player of the year now she has been struggling with a tummy injury throughout this tournament she had to go off half time in the game against weight and so her presence and her fitness for the final could be could make a big difference but of course while i don't think the netherlands have a particularly good chance of winning the final the dutch fans i'm sure see things differently let's hear what they think about the upcoming final $31.00 we are in the final no super a super credible group of course we're going to beat you is a piece of pure you know pro it is good that they achieved the finals and yeah i. didn't expect that to happen in the beginning of this growth you deserve it i don't

know one told us you know the only thing that we beat the american right. ali what about from the americans perspective with their brother face to sweden and the netherlands. to be honest with you i don't think they cared really who they face i think the u.s. have already played better teams than both netherlands on sweden at this tournament i think it's france was one example of that again gets england as well you know france and england or 2 of the best sides in the world at the moment the u.s. has overcome by for them you could say that they've already beaten sweden at this tournament in the group stage so perhaps that would have been one where they knew their opponents a little better but to be honest from what i saw last night and i'm sure the u.s. players were watching as well i don't really see a whole lot so while the u.s. comp i think they looked at hot favorites for a 4th cup title all right album will be for us in the on for the world cup thank you. while the women's world cup has been a while lying fans around the globe

a darker side of football has also been making headlines last month banned the former head of the afghanistan football federation from any football related activities for life after allegations that he and others sexually abused female players now the afghanistan coach is telling you she's not impressed with how fifa handled the case and thinks the president should not be in his posts with the gaze of the footballing world is on france and on the sidelines of the women's world cup a campaign has been launched to eliminate abuse harassment and exploitation and women's football in attendance at the launch was afghanistan's coach kelly lindsay who told d.w. how difficult it was for her players to get the help they needed from feet following reports of abuse the dialogue went on but it didn't feel like anything was progressing i didn't feel like our players were receiving the concern and care that they needed and many of them were getting death threats many of them were

being abused at the time we needed to get make sure they were safe we needed to get them out of the country so that they could speak the truth and help us understand what was really going on and it just felt like 8 months of a tennis match where nobody wanted to be held accountable and nobody won to really talk about the details and sort it out. back in november it was former player popal who 1st went public with allegations that key figures in the afghan football federation had sexually abused players. in june former a.f.f. president carter moved in karim was banned for life by fees and fines 900000 euros about a lawyer representing him has said he will seek to appeal the ruling. busy up to no evidence doesn't. stand a lot of truth. and that's what makes it a bad decision up to the. clearly lindsey disagrees but has also lost faith in feet for president giani in frontino. he's not my president of football he did not hold

up the gold standard that should be held up by fifa on human rights and women's rights and i don't believe he should be the president after the way this case was handled the women's world cup has been a big success but the afghan abuse scandal is a reminder of the long road ahead tennis now and an update from the 3rd day of wimbledon 15 year old revelation corey golf of the united states has made it into the 3rd round alongside the likes of carlina and simona halep meanwhile in the men's singles world number one novak djokovic easily beat american tennis could lie in straight sets the defending champion is looking very strong and one potential threat to djokovic is already out 3 time grand slam winner stanford franco was knocked out in a 5 step by american riley. right coming up on

a date up you focus on europe we'll hear about growing fears that break that could lead to a rise in crime along the irish border that's in just a few minutes here on day stay with us.

how. does. the 1st swiss cheese maker trying it out. is lemon tom receive 6 months of loving attention. and he plays music for it as well so can you taste the difference was the idea cheesy. next.

olmos. i'm not laughing at the gym well i guess sometimes i am but mostly laughing which is the reason german thinks deep into the german culture of looking at the stereotype that you think the future of the country that i'm. here needed so you can take it as grandma down to me it's all that. i'm rachel join me to meet the germans on the w. . post to know that 77 percent. are younger than. me and maybe you. can do a lot of time all voices. on the 77 percent who talk about the stuff

my. front porch to teach to flash from calzaghe keeping good time this is where you are. welcome to 77 percent. this weekend b.t.w. . hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm a large babalola my so have you with us a new beginning for turkey those are the words of istanbul's new mayor who broke the ruling party's hold on the city tens of thousands of residents celebrated. sweeping victory after president erda one demanded and last a revote in.