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Somalis Shocked — Shocked! — by UN Report
Shocked by a UN report that their country hosted Al-Qaeda fighters, Somalis said yesterday they feared the findings might disrupt international attempts to heal more than a decade of anarchy. The United Nations’ report said Al-Qaeda fighters trained and armed in Somalia organized a suicide attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya a year ago and a botched attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner taking off nearby. At least four Al-Qaeda suspects remain in Somalia, where additional weapons may have been imported for the purpose of carrying out further attacks in East Africa, according to a draft of the report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday. Somalis, long weary of the fighting between rival warlords, said they feared the report’s revelations of suspected activity by Osama Bin Laden’s followers would undermine efforts to reverse the country’s long collapse. “Before, I thought there was only a little such activity going on, but this huge activity in our country is a danger to our innocent people,” said Said Duale, manager of the Wireless African Communication Company. “This kind of activity will prevent Somalia getting back to toward law and order.”
Seems like it's a danger to innocent people elsewhere, too.
Some Somali faction leaders have pointed to the danger of militant activity as a reason for increased international efforts to restore central authority.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-11-07
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=20907