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Uganda Has Declared War On Us, Says Al-Shabaab Militant


Garowe Online (Garowe)


NEWS
25 December 2007
Posted to the web 26 December 2007
Garowe

A member of Somalia's al-Shabaab militant group says the Ugandan government has
declared war on Somalis by supporting historical enemy Ethiopia in "colonizing
Somalia."

Yusuf "Indha Ade" Mohamed Siad, a former warlord who joined the Islamic Courts,
told the BBC Somali Service on Tuesday that there is "no government in Somalia"
except for the Ethiopian army.



"There is no government here...the leader here is Gen. Gabre," Indha Ade said,
referring to the commanding Ethiopian general in Mogadishu.

Indha Ade appealed to the government of Burundi not to send more soldiers to
Somalia.

"I call upon the president of Burundi to not darken the history of Burundi and
Somalia. I call on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to withdraw his troops,"
said Indha Ade.

The African Union has long pledged to replace Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu
with a 8,000-strong peacekeeping force. But so far, only 1,800 peacekeepers
from Uganda and Burundi have deployed in Mogadishu.

But Indha Ade indicated during the interview that there is no difference
between invaders and those who support them.

"Uganda has declared war on us starting this hour," he said. "They are fighting
us and we will show them and every other group that invades our country."

The al-Shabaab guerrillas have been blamed for most insurgent attacks in
Mogadishu, but splinter resistance groups are also on the rise.

The Ethiopian-backed interim government has struggled to overpower Islamist
guerrillas led by the al-Shabaab fighters, who routinely attack government and
Ethiopian positions in Mogadishu using machineguns and rockets.

Somalia's Islamist fighters have vowed to continue their war until foreign
troops leave the country.


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