Abdul Kader betrays little emotion, neither bravado nor much regret. He said that his weapon of choice was a .30-caliber pistol and that he was involved in more than 50 assassinations.

“I heard many people begging for their lives,” he said.

He tries not to think about it.

Abdul Kader (he wanted only his first name to be used, for obvious reasons) joined his first militia about six years ago, when he was 20. With Somalia’s economy in ruins, militias and piracy gangs were about the only ones hiring.

He eventually grew numb to taking life, he said, but could see that the Shabab were losing to “the outside forces,” the superiorly armed African Union troops who arrived in 2007 and have steadily battered the Shabab until they pulled out of Mogadishu in August, creating this period of relative peace. Though the Shabab still control some territory in southern Somalia and stage bomb attacks in Mogadishu, their power is rapidly fading. Kenyan and Ethiopian forces are overpowering them in the hinterlands, and the African Union is now pushing outward from Mogadishu.

For Abdul Kader, the last straw was when he was assigned to assassinate his cousin, a pro-government militiaman. He wanted to defect, but first had to ask his father’s permission. His father said yes, please come home.

This was several months ago, and he is still checking over his shoulder for any signs of his former colleagues. Like many other former militiamen, he seems lost.

“I just want a normal job,” he said.

Like what?

He thought for a few seconds and answered, “I’d be happy as a driver.”