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Africa Horn
Somalis at odds over murder of Pakistani imams
2009-08-14
[Al Arabiya Latest] Officials in lawless northern Somalia traded accusations on Thursday a day after masked gunmen massacred seven Pakistani preachers at a mosque.

The sheikhs were killed in Galkayo, a town on the southern edge of the semi-autonomous northern Puntland region. Violence is increasing in the area, which had been relatively more peaceful than the rest of the failed Horn of Africa state.

Western security agencies say Somalia has become a haven for militant plotting attacks in the region and beyond.

" When the Pakistanis landed in Puntland their passports were taken by the authorities and they were settled in a mosque ... the Puntland president has imposed a night curfew in the north of Galkayo. His forces must have killed them "
Galmudug official Mohammed Warsame
The president of Puntland, Abdirahman Mohammed Farole, accused officials in Galmudug, which covers the southern part of the town, of ordering Wednesday's shooting. "The administration of southern Galkayo was behind the killing of the Pakistani preachers," Farole told reporters. "They are causing chaos in our region."

But a senior Galmudug official, Mohammed Warsame, denied it. "Puntland is definitely behind the killings," Warsame said. "When the Pakistanis landed in Puntland their passports were taken by the authorities and they were settled in a mosque ... the Puntland president has imposed a night curfew in the north of Galkayo. His forces must have killed them," he said.

"Tragic incident"
The group of about 25 sheikhs had arrived in Puntland on Tuesday. Local officials said they were mostly from Karachi.
Twenty-five? That's practically an invasion!
It remained far from clear why they were murdered. Some residents said they may have been suspected of al-Qaeda links, while others rejected that and said the clerics were from South Asia's apolitical Tablighi Jamaat religious movement.
Ummm... They're al-Qaeda recruiters...
Apolitical in a jihadi sort of way, then? Not for any party, just the Caliphate, y'know.
The Pakistani government said Somali Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdullahi Omar expressed condolences over the "tragic incident" in a telephone call to Pakistani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Malik Amad Khan. "He assured ... that the government of Somalia was doing its utmost to apprehend the culprits," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement, referring to the Somali minister.

At least six people were killed in Mogadishu on Wednesday when two supposedly pro-government factions exchanged artillery and anti-aircraft fire across the city's strategic K4 junction.
Posted by:Fred

#6  Get of my back Pappy how many exclamation marks did i use in my post above.

Only one. You're not up to your usual three or four. A tad disappointing.

If you dont like my posts/grammar dont read them simple!

Oh, I love your posts, especially for their obvious-ness and liberal use of exclamatory punctuation.

You must have a sad life if exclamation points upset you redneck!

Upset? Hardly. More like amused. At least you're consistent. BTW, if you're a rural New Englander by birth, the correct term would be 'Swamp Yankee'.
Posted by: Pappy   2009-08-14 22:50  

#5  I think that one is gentle teasing, Paul2. I've noticed how restrained you've become on a subject that creates a great deal of passion, so I know Pappy has, too -- he's a much more noticing person than I.
Posted by: trailing wife   2009-08-14 14:07  

#4  Get of my back Pappy how many exclamation marks did i use in my post above.

If you dont like my posts/grammar dont read them simple!

You must have a sad life if exclamation points upset you redneck!
Posted by: Paul2   2009-08-14 12:20  

#3  OK, so the victims were either terrorists or multi-level marketers. This does nothing to reduce the number of suspects.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2009-08-14 09:28  

#2  Or they were Amway salesmen!!!

(just so I could use more exclamation points)
Posted by: Pappy   2009-08-14 08:47  

#1  They are most likely radicals funded by the Saudis to spread their evil ideology!
Posted by: Paul2   2009-08-14 05:57  

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