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****** Somalia: Pro-Peace Opposition 'Relocates to Mogadishu' - ARS Official
******
24 December 2008
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A key opposition figure in Somalia returned to the capital Mogadishu, where he
was ushered to a hotel under the guard of African Union peacekeepers, Radio
Garowe reports.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of
Somalia (ARS), was accompanied by senior ARS members, including Sheikh
Abdulkadir Janakow.
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The ARS delegation was welcomed at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport
by Somali lawmakers, ARS members led by Col. Omar Hashi, and Mogadishu Mayor
Mohamed Osman "Dhagahtur."
The delegation was taken to Hotel Lafweyn, which has recently functioned as the
Djibouti-based ARS faction's Mogadishu office.
Sheikh Janakow, deputy chairman of the Islamic Courts, said that the ARS "has
relocated to Mogadishu" and that their trip to the Somali capital is "the
Djibouti Agreement in action," adding: "It is unfortunate for the violence to
continue when the enemy [Ethiopian troops] is ready to withdraw."
Addis Ababa has announced plans to withdraw Ethiopian troops from Somalia in
the coming weeks, a development that has triggered panic in different corners
of the world.
Col. Hashi, a senior ARS member, recently told reporters in Mogadishu that the
ARS is "ready to take over bases vacated by Ethiopian troops."
Yesterday, ARS Chairman Sheikh Sharif issued a public statement, co-signed by
Somali Prime MInister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein, calling for UN peacekeepers in
the event of Ethiopian pullout.
The Djibouti Agreement, which calls for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of
Ethiopian forces and the creation of a 'unity government,' has divided the
Somali interim government with emerging reports indicating that President
Abdullahi Yusuf is pondering resignation amidst the power struggle with Prime
Minister Nur Adde.
Copyright © 2008 Garowe Online. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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