And some dare ask us why we love him. At the end of the day Puntlanders Love Abduallhi Yusuf as much as he loves them.
When asked if he retired from politics, Yusuf said: "If Al Shabaab attempts to attack Puntland, I will return to the country and I promise to eradicate them."
SANA’A, Yemen Feb 1 (Garowe Online) - Somalia's former leader has advised the incoming president to confront anti-peace groups, namely Al Shabaab hardliners, Radio Garowe reports.
Col. Abdullahi Yusuf resigned as Somalia's interim president in December, after four years in power that saw the rise of the country's Islamic Courts movement.
Col. Abdullahi Yusuf, ex-Somali President
In a Sunday interview with Al Arabiya, ex-President Yusuf said "many problems" face the new administration, led by a former Islamic Courts chief, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
"Al Shabaab is a group that is against peace in Somalia and therefore is the number one problem facing Sheikh Sharif," the former president noted.
Yusuf described Al Shabaab, a breakaway faction of the Islamic Courts, as a "terrorist group," while suggesting that the especially insurgents are strong in the capital, Mogadishu.
When asked if he retired from politics, Yusuf said: "If Al Shabaab attempts to attack Puntland, I will return to the country and I promise to eradicate them."
Yusuf hails from the Puntland region, in northeastern Somalia. He made no mention of new Puntland leader Dr. Abdirahman Farole's refusal to recognize Sheikh Sharif as Somali president.
Source: Garowe Online


