ASMARA, Eritrea Dec 25 (Garowe Online) - A Somali Islamist hardliner who lives in exile in Eritrea has said the war against the Somali interim government will continue "even if Ethiopian troops withdraw," Radio Garowe reports.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, leader of the Eritrea-based ARS faction, said on Thursday that he is "doubtful" that Ethiopian forces will withdraw from Somalia.

"The men who returned to Mogadishu made friends with the enemy, and I believe the enemy is using them," Sheikh Aweys said, while referring to Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia's (ARS) Djibouti-based faction.

Sheikh Aweys

He described the enemy as "Ethiopian soldiers and AMISOM troops," while referring to a 3,400-strong African Union peacekeeping force from Uganda and Burundi.

He indicated that the fighting would not stop if Ethiopian troops decide to withdraw, saying: "A new war will start against the Somali government and its partners."

Sheikh Aweys rejected a report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG), which called for Al Shabaab and the Eritrea-based ARS faction to be included in the Djibouti peace process.

"We will not accept this [joining peace process] because it is dishonor," Sheikh Aweys said, while condemning the Djibouti Agreement as "not in the interests of Somalia."

The Agreement, signed between the Somali government and ARS-Djibouti faction, called for a ceasefire, the orderly withdrawal of Ethiopian forces and the establishment of a 'unity government.'

Sheikh Aweys said: "The Djibouti Agreement is intended to allow Ethiopian troops to withdraw looking like winners, but our goal is for them [Ethiopian troops] to withdraw humiliated."

He vowed that insurgents would "follow Ethiopian troops on roads they will use to leave, if they decide to leave."

In 2006, Sheikh Sharif and Sheikh Aweys were the twin leaders of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) that captured Mogadishu from U.S.-backed warlords.

Following Ethiopia's military intervention later that year, the ICU militia scattered and began a bloody insurgency to oust the Ethiopian-backed interim government.

Sheikh Sharif, who leads the ARS-Djibouti faction, returned to Mogadishu yesterday to promote the Djibouti Agreement and make preparations for the eventual withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.

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Source: Garowe Online