oint news conference with former army spokesman held later on Tuesday in the Somalia capital Mogadishu. The Islamist call followed an intensive meeting with some former senior Somali national army members in the capital over to face against the Ethiopians advances in Somalia. The Islamist leader Sheik Ahmed told reporters at the main ICU headquarter in north Mogadishu tonight that the country is in state of war and its Islamist movement would take new military strategies to face against what he called ‘the invaders’ in the country. The enemy troops are more and heavier than we expected, he said. “So we (ICU) officials agreed that more troops are needed and we are calling for all ex national army and reserve fighters of Islamic Courts to gear up for the defense of the country against the enemy otherwise the nation would be under Ethiopian occupation,”
Sheik Ahmed warned that Somalia would slide back to lawless and chaos if Somalis do not fight the Ethiopians and their so-called Somali puppets. “We are confident that we will defeat the enemy invaders, we are confident to restore the dignity and sovereignty of our country, we are certain that Somalia people would keep off its historical enemy (Ethiopia)... we trust in Allah that enemy will lose in this country but what we need is real faith and to be courageous to face any the infidels,” said Sheik Ahmed. “The country is in serous condition and needs to be protected from Ethiopian government.
Sheik Ahmed, who was in angry mood, accused the Ethiopian troops of committing human violations inside Somalia. “I am asserting that the enemy Ethiopian troops began slaughtering around 50 innocent Somali men and raping a number women and also terrorizing the public in central Somalia, and we are responsible for the defense of our people against the intruders.”
He said that Somalis are not hostile to Ethiopian society but are against the regime of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi whose plan is to harm Somalia and its people. “We are telling Meles’ government to pull it troops out of our country; Somalia is an independent nation and would never accept to be colonized.”
Colonel Hashi Hasan Fod-Adde, the former army spokesperson, among the army officials that met with Islamists, who also delivered a speech to the reporters said that all ex national forces in the capital should be ready for the defense of the religion and the land against Ethiopia. “We the (army commanders) are ordering all former soldiers specially the air and ground forces to make gathering in their barracks tomorrow morning at 8:00 am.” He said the former national forces with the help of Islamic Courts and Somalia society would destroy the power of the Ethiopian troops.
The latest Islamist call come as Ethiopian troops along with pro-government militia are making progress in the clashes with the Islamic Courts Union capturing many key towns in southern and central Somalia and moving towards the capital while the Islamic fighters retreated from all their positions for what the ICU officials meant it as ‘war technique’.