killing Ethiopian or Ugandan troops makes no difference to us, says Islamist leader

By Aweys Osman Yusuf

Mogadishu, 23 June 2007 - Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of the routed Union of Islamic Courts, stated that it made no difference to the Islamists either they would attack and kill the Ethiopian troops or the AU (Ugandan) troops present in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

Interviewed by the Arabic TV. Aljazeera, Aweys declared that the Islamic insurgents in Somalia would target the foreign forces in Mogadishu.

He said, “It makes no difference to us whether they are Ugandans or Ethiopians. We will continue fighting with them as long as the foreign forces are on Somalia soil.”

He objected to bring up where he was living, Aljazeera reported.

He said the Ugandan troops backed by their tanks took part in the latest fighting between the Islamic insurgents and the transitional government troops supported by the Ethiopian forces and tanks in late April.

“The Ugandans have, in the first place, arrived in Somalia only to back up the Ethiopian occupation in Somalia so why should they be different from the occupation force,” he said.

He stressed that the US government could change nothing if it even used its military power in raiding the Horn of Africa nation.
“Even if America launched air strikes on Somalia, destroying houses and killing innocent civilians will never undermine our power and change our opposition to the Ethiopian troops in the country,” he said.

He insisted that his Islamist followers were determined to overthrow the western backed secular government and turn Somalia into an Islamic state.

He condemned the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, for sticking on the notion of Ethiopian troops’ presence in Somalia.

“If Mr. Mubarak exactly fathoms that the Ethiopian forces are occupation forces and penetrated the country without the consent of the Somali population, I think he should back out supporting the Ethiopians in our country,” he said, indicating Mubarak disappointed the Somali people.

Source: Shabelle Media Network