| Hands off Somalia, Shabaab warns AU | Send to a friend |
| Monday, 26 July 2010 10:50 |
 By Abdulkadir Khalif, Citizen Correspondent, MogadishuThe Somali militant group al Shabaab yesterday warned African leaders meeting in Kampala against continuing with their “hostile” policy towards war-ravaged Somalia. A militant leader allied to the group, Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, said those who would ignore the warning would “cry like they did in Kampala”, in reference to the twin bomb attacks that killed over 70 people in the Ugandan capital earlier this month. Al Shabaab swiftly claimed responsibility for the July 11 attacks that targeted people watching the World Cup final on television. Al Shabaab’s warning coincided with the start of the AU Heads of State Summit, which is expected to discuss the long-running conflict in Somalia and its potential to spilling over the country’s borders. Al Shabaab and its allies are fiercely opposed to plans to send more peacekeeping troops to Somalia, in a bid to end almost two decades of lawlessness and bloodletting in the Horn of Africa country. Uganda tightened security ahead of the AU Summit after Al Shabaab urged people in Mogadishu to participate in a jihad (holy war) against the country’s “enemies”. Sheikh Bilal told a news conference in Mogadishu that African leaders meeting in Kampala should not foment chaos by taking a “wrong approach”. He added that the AU had worsened the situation by endorsing what he said was Ethiopia’s occupation of Somalia, and accused the continental body of presiding over the “massacre” of innocent Somalis by Ethiopia and later Ugandan and Burundian troops operating under the auspices of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). “Amisom peacekeepers are shelling the Somali people day and night,” said Sheikh Bilal adding: “They are acting with the express approval of the African Union.” He said AU leaders should draw lessons from the deadly blasts that rocked Kampala a fortnight ago. “The twin explosions showed that the Somali youth more than capable of avenging for their killing of their brothers and sisters in Mogadishu,” Sheikh Bilal said. He warned Guinea, Djibouti and other countries that had pledged to assist the beleaguered transitional government in Mogadishu to think twice before sending troops to Somalia. “This is an American project, implemented through the AU,” Sheikh Bilal said. “Our reaction will make people in other African capitals cry like those in Kampala.” Meanwhile, the top al Shabaab official in southern Mogadishu urged residents of the shattered capital to join the jihad against the government and foreign troops. Sheikh Mohamed Abu Abdallah said the group had set up several registration centres, and urged people to contribute their wealth and lives to the holy war against the “puppet government” and Amisom peacekeepers. “We ask everybody to get ready and participate in the jihad, and strongly warn against any hesitation…this is a war that must be won,” he said. Al Shabaab officials in central and southern Somalia have in recent days been calling on the group’s supporters to join in the violent campaign against the transitional government and AU peacekeepers. Sheikh Ali Mohamed Hussein, the al Shabaab governor of Banadir region (Mogadishu and surrounding areas), urged residents of the capital to take part in an all-out jihad. US Attorney General Eric Holder was scheduled to address the summit in Kampala yesterday, and was expected to address the July 11 suicide bomb attacks carried out by al Shabaab rebels. US intelligence agencies have warned of growing links between al Shabaab in Somalia and al Qaeda’s network in East Africa. The Obama administration has made it a priority to track and target top militants in both groups. Meanwhile, the head of the AU Commission, Mr Jean Ping, has accused the UN Security Council of not giving the crisis in Somalia the attention it deserves. “The question of Somalia has been forgotten by the Security Council. We have been requesting the Security Council, but all they recommend are peacekeeping troops, which are attacked by insurgents, but are not allowed to hit back. “We are now saying we cannot accept this anymore. We have changed the mandate in Somalia that if you are attacked, you have to defend yourself,” he told a news conference in Kampala. Mr Ping said a decision had been reached to send at least 2,000 more soldiers to Mogadishu from Djibouti, which the country hosting a US military base in Africa. Guinea is also ready to send troops. He added that Amisom troops required five additional helicopters to boost their strength in Somalia. Focus of the AU Summit has gradually shifted from its theme on maternal and infant mortality and health to regional security. On Thursday, Uganda’s East African Cooperation minister, Mr Eriya Kategaya, told reporters that Uganda and Burundi were ready to deploy extra troops as long as there was support in the form of equipment and wages. The additional troops will increase the number of soldiers serving under Amisom to 8,100 by the end of August from the current 6,100 troops contributed by Uganda and Burundi. Additional reporting by Evelyn Lirri and Solomon Muyita in Kampala Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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