From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Sep 26 2009 - 06:24:55 EDT
Somalia: Pro-government Islamist figure joins opposition
Sep 26, 2009 - 11:31:09 PM
BELETWEIN, Somalia Sep 25 (Garowe Online) - The governor of a region in
central Somalia has declared his loyalty to an Islamist opposition faction,
weeks after saying he quit the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in
Mogadishu.
Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, the governor of Hiran region, held a press
conference on Thursday in Beletwein, the provincial capital of Hiran.
"Starting today, the Hiran Administration is part of Hizbul Islam and will
work under that name.our fighters and weapons are now part of Hizbul Islam,"
Sheikh Ma'ow told reporters at the Beletwein administration building.
Sheikh Ma'ow
He urged the public to maintain order in Beletwein and other parts of Hiran
region, while sending a warning to TFG officials in the region.
"The TFG members who are still inside Hiran must leave our region, because
there is no government in Somalia we recognize," Sheikh Ma'ow added.
TFG lawmakers and troops are based at El Gal military camp in the outskirts
of Beletwein. But Sheikh Ma'ow accused the TFG soldiers of "bothering the
public."
Hizbul Islam's political leaders have not publicly endorsed Sheikh Ma'ow and
the Hiran administration as part of the opposition faction, which is waging
a bloody insurgency against the TFG in Mogadishu.
Parts of Hiran region come under the control of Al Shabaab, a powerful
insurgent faction that is independent of Hizbul Islam.
Change of heart
Sheikh Ma'ow was the governor of Hiran region since the Islamic Courts Union
(ICU) rose to power in south-central Somalia in 2006.
He actively fought against Ethiopian troops when Addis Ababa intervened in
Somalia to overthrow the ICU and to bolster the TFG in Mogadishu. When
Ethiopian troops withdrew from Mogadishu, Baidoa and Beletwein in Jan. 2009,
Sheikh Ma'ow supported the new TFG led by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the
former ICU leader.
Sheikh Ma'ow returned to Beletwein in August after spending two months in
Mogadishu engaged in direct talks with TFG leaders. Upon his return, he
announced that he has withdrawn support to the TFG, which he called "weak."
READ:
<http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/As_Ethiopia_withdraw
s_Hiran_governor_quits_Somalia_government.shtml> As Ethiopia withdraws,
Hiran governor quits Somalia govt
Independent sources tell Somali news agency Garowe Online that Hiran's
Islamist governor went to Mogadishu to persuade TFG leaders to support the
establishment of a federal state government in Hiran.
But TFG leaders, who are busy fighting insurgents in Mogadishu, evaded the
idea because it required funding support from the cash-strapped Somali
government.
The decision to join Hizbul Islam after spending weeks without disclosing
his political position was "influenced by a need to shield from Al Shabaab,"
the sources said.
Hizbul Islam is the only faction in south-central Somalia that Al Shabaab
fighters have not attacked, the sources added.
Al Shabaab fighters have attacked TFG troops, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamee'a
militia and even African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) in Mogadishu and other
parts of south-central Somalia.
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