Jacpher Posted April 3, 2008 Somali Islamist leader pledges commitment to new peace plan by Ali Musa Abdi Wed Apr 2, 12:50 PM ET NAIROBI (AFP) - Somalia's top exiled Islamist leader on Wednesday pledged his camp's commitment to a new peace drive but warned the movement would keep up its struggle against what it calls Ethiopian occupation. "Members of the international community are trying to help Somalis overcome their differences and we will do all we can to be flexible and achieve a lasting peace," Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed told AFP in an interview following talks in Nairobi. Sheikh Sharif, 44, is the chairman of the executive council of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), an opposition umbrella group dominated by Islamists and based in the Eritrean capital of Asmara. "The ARS met UN officials and other members of the international community in Nairobi, our engagement with them is encouraging," he said. Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein were also in the Kenyan capital, but, according to Somali officials, the ARS leader did not meet directly with either of them. Sheikh Sharif was the head of the Islamic Courts Union, a militia which ousted US-backed warlords from Mogadishu in 2006 and briefly ruled large parts of the country before being defeated by Ethiopian forces last year. Ethiopian-backed Somali government troops are still battling the movement's military wing and allied clans, in a year-old guerrilla war which has left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands. The impoverished Horn of Africa country has seen more than 14 peace initiatives fail since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre. Sheikh Sharif warned that his movement remained committed to its struggle against Ethiopia, which it accuses of conducting a Christian crusade in Muslim Somalia. "Somalis are fighting a legitimate war, in order to gain their independence," the cleric said. "The fighting will continue until we achieve the result of a free Somalia. Our people are currently being colonised and are experiencing the worst living conditions in the world." Sheikh Sharif and his allies were not involved in the latest peace initiative, which took place in 2007 in Mogadishu in the form of a clanic reconciliation conference. The Islamist opposition had demanded such talks be held outside of Somalia and after an Ethiopian pullout. The Somali transitional government's latest prime minister has adopted a more inclusive approach to the national reconciliation process than his predecessor Ali Mohamed Gedi. The UN's top envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, said Tuesday he had been encouraged by his latest consultations with government officials and leading members of the opposition. "These are very encouraging new developments and a positive sign of a commitment by the Somalis to rebuild their country and start again," the envoy was quoted as saying in a statement. Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, a former Somali parliament speaker and the chairman of the ARS' central committee, also sounded a hopeful note following several days of consultations in Nairobi. "The avenue for peace is open, we are here to explore better ways to end the violence," he told AFP. Sheikh Sharif and Sheikh Aden are both seen as relatively moderate within the exiled opposition. Source Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
