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Islamists to Back Somali Provinces Under Ethiopia And Kenya Control

Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
NEWS
November 18, 2006
Posted to the web November 20, 2006

By Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu
For the first time the Union of Islamic Courts has revealed it is tracking down
provinces that, it said, belonged to Somalia but were annexed to neighboring
countries, Ethiopia and Kenya.
In an interview with Shabelle Radio in Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts judiciary
leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys said the Somali population was one family but
was disenfranchised and disintegrated by former colonizers who, he said, were
still busy splitting up the Somali population that shares one language and
religion.
"It is unbelievable that a country population that is like one family to be
divided into 10 parts. As Islamic Courts, we will not accept divisions and we
will gain back the Somali provinces forcefully annexed to Ethiopia and Kenya",
Aweys said.
Asked how he would react to the UN repot that accused several Middle Eastern
and African countries of helping Somalia militarily and hundreds of Islamists
that fought along side Hezbollah in the 34 days war with Israel, Aweys said it
was a mistake to find fault with a group or someone for something baseless,
denying Somalia Islamist fighters went to Lebanon to support Hezbollah in the
Lebanon and Israeli war.
There have been rumors that Islamic Courts sent number of their troops to
Eritrea for training; Aweys, the Islamic Courts founder, stopped short to
answer the question regarding Eritrea and Islamist issue.
UN says Ethiopia and Eritrea, long time rival enemies that fought their war
over borders from 1998 to 2000, ware involved in helping the opposing parties
in Somalia militarily, showing concerns that Somalia could become a proxy war
for the two countries.
Curfew has been imposed on the capital following the burning and ban on
narcotic leaf, Khad and demonstrations that followed in which a teenage boy was
shot dead by Islamists.
The courts did not specify when the curfew would last.
Aweys said Khad was more dangerous to the society. "Fighting for the
eradication of Khat is more dangerous than the warlords we evicted from the
capital, but we will get rid of it because it destroyed our economy and
massively harmed the discipline of our society", he said.
Islamists have not only banned Khad but they have banned smoking as well in
different locations of Somalia under their control, imposing fine of S. Sh
7,000,000 ($800) on vehicles trying to smuggle Khad into Islamist areas and
500,000 Somali shillings ($40) on the Khad consumer.
.


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