Islamist Vow to Protect Aid Workers

[Shirib]

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's new hardline opposition leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys has vowed to protect aid workers in the Horn of Africa nation where insecurity has stopped many groups from working.

The United Nations said last week that recent killings andkidnappings of aid workers in Somalia threatened to wreck allefforts to end one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

Aweys, an Islamist cleric who is on U.S. and U.N. lists ofal Qaeda suspects, called on the international community tohelp his Eritrea-based opposition group expel Ethiopian forcessupporting the country's fragile Western-backed government.

Islamist insurgents have waged an Iraq-style insurgency ofroadside bombs, mortar attacks and assassinations against theadministration and its Ethiopian allies since early last year.

But the rebels have blamed government hardliners for a waveof attacks targeting senior local humanitarian staff.

Somali officials deny the accusations.

"We are very grateful to the aid workers who are helpingthe starving Somali community and we strongly condemn those whokill or abduct them," Aweys told Reuters by telephone fromAsmara.

"We shall do what we can to safeguard aid workersespecially in the areas under our control. We shall help,escort and defend them. They are killed by the enemies who thenput the blame on us," the former prison service colonel saidlate on Wednesday.

Somalia's deputy prime minister and information minister,Ahmed Abdisalan, called for unity in the country, which isawash with arms. He said groups opposed to peace were behindthe attacks on humanitarian workers.

"We are saddened by the attacks on foreign and local aidworkers. As long as we are divided and still have arms in ourpossession, groups opposed to peace will take advantage of thechaos to inflict harm on aid workers," he said.

The killings and threats against humanitarian workers haveshocked U.N. agencies and aid groups and forced many toconsider suspending operations in the lawless nation, which hasnot had an effective central government since 1991.

In the latest incident of intimidation, the Elman Peace andHuman Rights group said it had been forced into hiding.

On Thursday, clashes between the rebels and Ethiopianskilled at least five people in the central town of Beledweyne.

More than 8,000 civilians have been killed and 1 millionuprooted since allied Somali-Ethiopian soldiers routed Aweys'sharia courts group from Mogadishu at the start of last year.

Aweys took control of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation ofSomalia (ARS), an umbrella group based in the Eritrean capital,on Tuesday after expelling the moderate Sheikh Sharif Ahmed forsigning a peace deal with the interim government.

On Wednesday, the African Union said a small peace force itsent to Mogadishu was unable to stabilise the situation andurged the United Nations to take over its duties.

(Writing by Jack Kimball; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
(For full Reuters coverage of Africa, visit,http://africa.reuters.com/)

Source: Reuters, July 24, 2008

http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2008/July/ ... rkers.aspx

[FAH1223]

Who are Aweys' forces?

Oh wait, he doesn't have any.

[Shirib]

Who are Aweys' forces?

Oh wait, he doesn't have any.

Yes he does, he has big forces too

[FAH1223]

Who are Aweys' forces?

Oh wait, he doesn't have any.

Yes he does, he has big forces too

Where?

I thought al shabaab broke off from him and the ARS

[Shirib]

Who are Aweys' forces?

Oh wait, he doesn't have any.

Yes he does, he has big forces too

Where?

I thought al shabaab broke off from him and the ARS

Yes they did, but he still has the ICU forces, loyal to him. Indha'ade's mooryaan and others

[FAH1223]

So when Ethiopai leaves the battle will become

Al Shabaab v. Aweys forces + Indha'cadde mooryan?

[Shirib]

So when Ethiopai leaves the battle will become

Al Shabaab v. Aweys forces + Indha'cadde mooryan?

Nah... Shabaab will easily crush those forces, if it comes to that, butI don't think it will

[The_Emperior5]

daahir aweys

[AbdiWahab252]

Good news !

He should have made this statement months ago.

When Ethiopia leaves its going to be:

Hutuban vs. Bugland

Shirib,

Shabab is over hyped saxiib. But if Shabab threatens to disrupt the Hutuban then they will be in trouble.

[MJ-Pride]

All the big supporters that used to support Dahir Aweys seem to find out that Dahir was nothing more than a power hungry warlord, except our deluded Digil brother. This guy actually thinks Dahir Aweys is honest sheikh

Waraa Shirib, kaalay adi ma jirantahay?

[The_Emperior5]

abdi wahab i cant wait to watch that war on cnn aljazeera fox news with my paprika chips iyo copka Cocolaha seein Iriri forces take over puntland benderqasim i think it will be done in 36 hours alshabab will just back
Emir Sheikh xassan daahir aways Al hutut

[AbdiWahab252]

Emperior,

Ya ka ceelina kuwa HJ iyo Sakhraan Galbeed camal ?

MJpride,

Digil are wadani people. Even during the struggle for indepedence they stopped proItalians from entering Xamar in Shabeele hoose

[MJ-Pride]

Good news !

He should have made this statement months ago.

When Ethiopia leaves its going to be:

Hutuban vs. Bugland

Shirib,

Shabab is over hyped saxiib. But if Shabab threatens to disrupt the Hutuban then they will be in trouble.

So, HUtubun and Al-shabab are totally different? What are the HUtu ban doing now, seeing that Al-shabab are doing the fighting as we speak. Hutuban are the sleeping giants that will crush everybody when the bogey man Ethiopia leaves

[Shirib]

All the big supporters that used to support Dahir Aweys seem to find out that Dahir was nothing more than a power hungry warlord, except our deluded Digil brother. This guy actually thinks Dahir Aweys is honest sheikh

Waraa Shirib, kaalay adi ma jirantahay?

Nah...I said Dahir Aweys needs to dump his white eyed cousin if he wants to get his legitimacy back

This is just postin the news

[garowegal]

hutuban? buglang? WTH