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Exiled
Somali Islamist rejects international forces |
DUBAI, Feb 2
(Reuters) - Exiled Somali Islamist leader
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed rejected the deployment
of international forces in the Horn of
Africa country and in remarks aired on
Friday called for serious talks for national
reconciliation.
"Peace does not come by force ... but by
conducting talks and serious negotiations in
which all the problems are identified and
resolved," Ahmed told Al Jazeera television
from Nairobi.
"The problem cannot be resolved by
international forces because what has
happened was an invasion and following up on
that with international forces would further
complicate the crisis," he added.
Ahmed, considered a moderate in the Islamist
movement, is viewed by the United States as
a possible key to Somali reconciliation
talks.
Ethiopian troops and Somali interim
government forces launched an offensive in
late December that routed the Islamists who
had controlled most of south Somalia since
June.
The government wants an African Union (AU)
peacekeeping force of about 8,000 troops to
help the government keep control.
But many doubt the AU's capacity to muster
the full contingent, let alone tame a nation
that defied the combined efforts of U.S. and
U.N. peacekeepers in the early 1990s.
"If it (deployment of forces) was not
preceded by agreement and serious
discussions, it will make the situation more
difficult in Somalia," he said.
Asked whether the Islamists would use arms
against such a force, he said: "How can it
be acceptable if it came after invading
forces and without an agreement, without
negotiation?"
"How can we accept it and we see it as (two
sides of the) same coin? We see it as one
coin, whether Ethiopian or otherwise, and we
will deal with it the same way."
The Islamists have vowed to conduct a
guerrilla war, and many suspect their
hardcore militants have been behind a spate
of attacks in Mogadishu on Ethiopian and
government positions.
Ahmed surrendered on the border with Kenya
in January and was held in the custody of
Kenyan intelligence until a few days ago.
During that time, he met with U.S. envoy to
Kenya Michael Ranneberger, who also has
responsibility for Somalia.
A British-based Web site on Thursday quoted
Ahmed as saying he planned to travel to
Yemen shortly.
Western leaders have pressed Somalia's
transitional government to form an inclusive
administration.
The Islamist chief said the Somali
government should make concessions for
national talks to attain their goals.
"If the Somali government is ready to
negotiate with an open mind then these
negotiations can succeed," he said. "But if
the government remains with this hardline,
then nothing can be done.
"If several sides believe that national
dialogue is the way forward for Somalia,
they should try to press the government to
concede its hardline positions toward
negotiations then we might achieve
something," Ahmed said.
--Source: Reuters |
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