Thursday, November 15, 2007

Fugitive Islamic Courts chief condemns UN for 'neglecting' Somalia

from Garowe Online (Somalia)

"We will never falter in our struggle to free our country [Somalia] from the invading colonialist [Ethiopia]," Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Alawsat. Aweys accused the United Nations of "neglecting" the plight of the Somali people, saying the world body has refused to speak about the daily massacres being committed by the Ethiopian army in Somalia. "The situation in Somalia is far worse than in [the Sudanese region of] Darfur," said Aweys, who compared the disproportionate attention Darfur receives on the world stage to the silent suffering of the masses in Somalia ... Aweys is on the UN and U.S. list of suspects wanted for links to international terror groups, including al Qaeda. He fled Somalia after declaring "jihad" on Ethiopia last year and now resides in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. Hundreds of young men died last December fighting Aweys' "jihad," which ultimately led to humiliating defeat for the Islamic Courts militia.

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