ASMARA, Eritrea Nov 7 (Garowe Online) - A Somali Islamist hardliner who is on the U.S. list of terror suspects has rejected recent efforts by a group of self-appointed Muslim scholars who offered to mediate among the Islamic Courts Union's (ICU) factions.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the ICU's spiritual leader when the group rose to fame in 2006, told reporters Friday in the Eritrean capital of Asmara that he will not partake in talks to peacefully settle political differences among ICU leaders.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys

"The clerics who offered to hold a meeting and mediate among ICU leaders are not neutral," Sheikh Aweys, while accusing the clerics of "supporting" rival leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

In October, Sheikh Sharif finalized a peace deal with the Ethiopian-backed Somali interim government calling for a ceasefire and the timely withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.

But Sheikh Aweys and a number of Islamist groups, including al Shabaab guerrillas, have rejected the peace process and vowed to continue the two-year insurgency until Ethiopian forces withdraw.

The spokesman for the Muslim scholars, Sheikh Nur Barud Gurhan, has previously rejected criticisms that the scholars support the pro-peace faction of the ICU.

Earlier this week, Sheikh Sharif visited two towns under ICU control in Somalia and met with key ICU ground commanders, traditional elders and business leaders.

Unconfirmed reports told Garowe Online that Sheikh Aweys, who has been based in Eritrea for nearly two years, will soon travel to his native region of Galgaduud.

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Source: Garowe Online