Islamist leader blames Somalia govt. of daily bombings

By Aweys Osman Yusuf

Mogadishu, 21 July.20007 - The chairman of the defeated Union of Islamic Courts, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, who is Asmara, Eritrea, accused the Somali transitional government of being responsible for the daily bombings in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

He told Shabelle that Somali troops hurl grenades to kill a lot of Somalis. "They hurl the bombs to kill people and then they tell the world that insurgents have been responsible for the incidents. They are the murderers and the Somalis and the world should understand that," he said.

He said the government was meaning to make the population hate what he called "those who object to the Ethiopian occupying forces".

On July 12, opponents of the Somali transitional government in Eritrea announced they would hold a conference on September to form a coalition whose main objective is to end Ethiopia's occupation of Somalia.

In late December, Ethiopia led the massive military offensive that ended the six-month rule of Somalia's Islamic Courts Union and enabled the interim government to move in Mogadishu.

In recent months, the Islamists and former parliament members have issued joint statements against Ethiopia and the interim government from their opposition base in the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

The West accuses Eritrea of fighting a proxy war against its long time enemy, Ethiopia, by funding and facilitating actions to undermine Somalia's interim government in Mogadishu.

Somalia's central government collapsed in 1991 when warlords toppled former president, Siad Barre.

Source: Shabelle Media Network

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