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From Garoweonline.com Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia Feb 9 (Garowe Online) - Unconfirmed reports from Somalia's capital Mogadishu indicate that the spokesman for Al Shabaab hardliners has secretly met with the country's new interim president, Radio Garowe reports. Muktar Robow "Abu Mansur," the fiery spokesman for Al Shabaab, arrived in Mogadishu with armed trucks and loyal gunmen after Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed relocated to the capital for the first time since being elected in late January.
Sheikh Sharif, who was the leader of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in 2006, is expected to appoint a new Prime Minister soon, who will create a 'unity government' that is inclusive of different factions in Somalia. Al Shabaab, considered a terror group by the U.S. government, is a splinter faction of the ICU and has rejected the UN-endorsed Djibouti peace process that brought Sheikh Sharif to power. Radio Garowe could not independently confirm this story. However, during his most recent radio interview, Abu Mansur did not directly condemn President Sheikh Sharif's new government but instead dedicated his comments to distancing Al Shabaab from the brutal slaying of Radio HornAfrik's late director, Said Tahlil Ahmed. READ: Al Shabaab distances itself from radio director's assassination Another Al Shabaab official, Sheikh Hassan Yakub in the southern port of Kismayo, had publicy declared war on President Sheikh Sharif's new government after accusing the new president of "choosing America over Islam." READ: Al Shabaab declare war on Somalia's new president If confirmed, Abu Mansur's visit to President Sheikh Sharif presents a divide within Al Shabaab, most of whose young fighters were part of the Islamic revolution in 2006 when Abu Mansur was the ICU's deputy defense secretary. Source: Garowe Online http://www.garoweonline.com |
