From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Jun 03 2009 - 07:30:22 EDT
Somali Islamist claims he's uniting insurgents*By SALAD DUHUL, The
Associated Press*
11:50 a.m. June 2, 2009
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A hardline Somali leader on a U.N. list of terror
suspects claimed Tuesday to be making progress in uniting two Islamist
insurgent factions as a single front against the Western-backed government.
Militiamen loyal to Islamic Party leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys have been
fighting side-by-side in recent weeks with al-Shabab, an extremist Islamist
group considered by the U.S. State Department to be a terrorist organization
with links to al-Qaida. Al-Shabab denies that.
"Talks to unite al-Shabab and the Islamic Party are at an advanced stage,"
Aweys told The Associated Press by telephone in his first interview since
becoming the Islamic Party leader May 27.
"We are already in agreement over the issue of driving out foreign invaders
and granting Somalis the right to choose," their government," said Aweys. He
is also on a U.N. list of individuals with links to al-Qaida. Aweys has
denied having such links.
Officials of al-Shabab were not immediately available for comment and it was
impossible to verify his claim. But closer ties between the two groups could
allow them to share resources such as arms supplies and troops, posing a
more potent threat to the Western-backed government.
Aweys's group, with the backing of hundreds of foreign fighters, supports a
strict interpretation of Islam that have frightened many Somalis into
submission with threats of stonings and other harsh punishments.
Aweys returned to Mogadishu in April, from self-imposed exile in Eritrea.
Diplomats have said insurgents in recent weeks have a received a major boost
from as many as 400 foreigners who are believed to have come from as far as
the battlefields of Afghanistan. Experts have expressed fears that the
foreign Islamic militants could use Somalia as a base for terror in the
region.
The insurgents launched a major offensive against the government last month
and the government retaliated, with the battles claiming almost 200
civilians.
The U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday that 70,000 civilians have fled
their homes in Mogadishu, with two thirds of them leaving the city
altogether.
Residents in southwestern Mogadishu and a government official said that
pro-government forces on Tuesday recaptured a police station close to
Mogadishu's main airport from Islamic insurgents and at least three people
were killed in the six-hour long battle. It was not clear if the dead people
were civilians or Islamic fighters.
––
Associated Press writer Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu contributed to this
report.
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----