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Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys questioned
 | From the map, the 'government' has a ways to go... |
A top Somali Islamist, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, has been transferred under armed guard from the airport in the capital Mogadishu following his arrival there on Saturday. He is now being questioned at a government intelligence base.
| Marquess of Queensbury rules? |
He was moved after a fight broke out between government officials, members of the security forces and clan elders over what to do with him.
"Shoot him! Shoot him now! I demand you shoot him now!"
"Quiet, Daffy..." |
He was held after fleeing fighting between factions of the Islamist group, al-Shabab, amid reports of a split in the group.
A delegation that accompanied Hassan Dahir Aweys from central Somalia has accused the government of reneging on a promise to grant him an amnesty. The Somali government has made no official comment.
| They did however snicker loudly... |
On Saturday, Sheikh Aweys was flown from the northern town of Adado, escorted by government security forces, but it was unclear whether he had surrendered or defected.
The United Nations says he gave himself up to government allies after infighting, but clan elders deny this.
Regarded as the elder statesman of Somali Islamists, he has been on a US list of people "linked to terrorism" since shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The exact cause of the al-Shabab split is not known, but there has been a long-running internal power struggle between its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane and those seen as more moderate who oppose links with al-Qaeda, analysts say.
Posted by: Steve White 2013-07-01 |
