Somali President criticised for anti-Kenya comments
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:19 am
By Sahra Abdi and Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed came under fire Tuesday for casting doubt on the government's support for a Kenyan incursion into the south of the Horn of Africa nation to take on Islamist rebels.
Ahmed said Monday the Somali government was not happy with the deployment of Kenyan soldiers across the border because the incursion went beyond an initial agreement for logistical support for Somali soldiers.
Kenya sent thousands of troops and heavy weapons into Somalia 10 days ago in a campaign to push Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels away from the border, following a series of kidnappings by Somali gunmen on Kenyan soil.
Kenyan soldiers have advanced on several fronts along with Somali troops and allied militias but there has yet to be a serious showdown with al Shabaab. The first major confrontation is expected to be in the strategic transit town of Afmadow.
In the Somali town of Dhobley near the border with Kenya, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets Tuesday waving Kenyan and Somali flags and burning pictures of the president.
"We want Kenya and Somalia to fight al Shabaab in every corner. We do not have any other hope for life," Gedi Farah, an elder from the Dhobley area, told Reuters by phone.
"Kenya, do not believe the words of our weak, mad president. Please fight al Shabaab and go deep into Somalia. We want to return to our homes," he said.
Somali military officials and a spokesman for the pro-government Ras Kamboni militia urged the demonstrators to calm down, saying the president's remarks were not in line with the Somali government's position. Continued...
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews ... dChannel=0
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed came under fire Tuesday for casting doubt on the government's support for a Kenyan incursion into the south of the Horn of Africa nation to take on Islamist rebels.
Ahmed said Monday the Somali government was not happy with the deployment of Kenyan soldiers across the border because the incursion went beyond an initial agreement for logistical support for Somali soldiers.
Kenya sent thousands of troops and heavy weapons into Somalia 10 days ago in a campaign to push Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels away from the border, following a series of kidnappings by Somali gunmen on Kenyan soil.
Kenyan soldiers have advanced on several fronts along with Somali troops and allied militias but there has yet to be a serious showdown with al Shabaab. The first major confrontation is expected to be in the strategic transit town of Afmadow.
In the Somali town of Dhobley near the border with Kenya, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets Tuesday waving Kenyan and Somali flags and burning pictures of the president.
"We want Kenya and Somalia to fight al Shabaab in every corner. We do not have any other hope for life," Gedi Farah, an elder from the Dhobley area, told Reuters by phone.
"Kenya, do not believe the words of our weak, mad president. Please fight al Shabaab and go deep into Somalia. We want to return to our homes," he said.
Somali military officials and a spokesman for the pro-government Ras Kamboni militia urged the demonstrators to calm down, saying the president's remarks were not in line with the Somali government's position. Continued...
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews ... dChannel=0
