Somaliland considers Islamic courts threats as declaration of war

[Qudhac]

Somaliland considers Islamic courts threats as declaration of war

 

 

Awdalnews Network=

 

HARGEISA, 08 Oct. 2006--Somaliland today said it would consider statements by officials of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) against its sovereignty as “a declaration of warâ€, demanding the UIC to handover those in its ranks suspected of being behind the killing of foreign workers in Somaliland.

 

In a press conference he held at his office, Somaliland’s Foreign Minister Abdillahi Mohammed Duale, said he was not at all shocked by the threats made by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and Colonel Hassan Abdillahi Hirsi (Turki) against Somaliland in a meeting they held at the former Somali Presidential residence known as Villa Somalia.

 

“The UIC officials have forged a full scale plan on launching a campaign against Somaliland and have pinpointed specified targets,†he added.

 

Both Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Chairman of the UIC, and Colonel Turki, UIC member and commander of the forces that recently seized the southern port of Kismayo, accused Somaliland of torturing Sheikh Mohammed Ismail who is detained in Hargeisa for crimes related to terrorism. In a recent statement Colonel Turki had threatened that his forces would free the cleric by force if Somaliland refused to free him on its own accord.

 

Responding to these threats, Duale said that these statements did not shock him as Col. Hassan Dahir Aweys had previously accused Somaliland of worshipping an idol called PEACE and that he was going to demolish it.

 

“This is why Sharif and Turki want to portray the terrorist suspects waiting for trial in Hargeisa as innocent people being tortured by us and they want to free them by force,†he said, noting that attempts have been made earlier to free convicted terrorists from Hargeisa central prison.

 

The Minister was referring to the case of Mohamed Sheikh Ismail who is accused of being the source of explosives found during Somaliland parliamentary election. Duale said the explosives were aimed at causing instability and chaos in Somaliland.

 

Duale demanded the UIC to handover the suspects of the killing of foreign workers in Somaliland.

 

Somaliland, a peaceful state which declared its independent from the rest of Somalia in 1991, was shocked in 2003 by the killing of Annalena Tonelli, an Italian humanitarian worker and later two British teachers Richard and Enid Eyeington as well as a Kenyan woman working for the German GTZ.

 

Somaliland accuses Col. Hassan Dahir Aweys, the strong man of the UIC and former Al Ittihad member accused by the USA of having links with Al Qaeda, and Ahmed Hashi Ayro, an Afghan trained militia commander, to be behind the killings of the foreign workers.

 

The Minister warned the UN, AU, EU, USA and the regional IGAD against condoning the Islamist group, which he said aimed at destabilizing not only Somaliland but the whole region as well.

 

He also called the Somaliland people, government bodies and political parties not to be deceived by the UIC false slogans and to be united for the defense of their homeland.

[Che -Guevara]

LoooL...Ar take it easy. Yaaba is gaare.This is pretty funny.

 

What would be funnier is to see rag la karbaasho by the virtue police in Hargeisa and Garowe.