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Africa Horn
Somali president vows to hunt down militants
2011-08-11
DAR ES SALAAM: SomaliaÂ’s President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed promised on Wednesday to rid the country of the militants who are fighting to overthrow his administration and blocking food aid to millions of people facing starvation.

Ahmed was speaking four days after Al-Shabaab pulled most of its forces out of the Somali capital amid signs of deepening rifts among its senior commanders.

“As long as they are in Somali territory, even an inch, I will not rest,” Ahmed told a news conference after meeting Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete in Dar es Salaam. “Our determination is to clear them out,” he said.

Some regional allies have criticized AhmedÂ’s failure to quash the insurgency and push through a new constitution designed to better spread political power among the countryÂ’s powerful clans and regions.
His ability to survive, however, is a credit...
Al-Shabaab said its retreat from Mogadishu was a tactical move, raising fears it will increasingly resort to Al-Qaeda-inspired attacks such as suicide bombings and assassinations.
What they do best...
A series of military offensives against Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu this year and a drying up of “taxes” extorted from traders in the capital and farmers in rural areas affected by drought have deepened the divisions among the rebel commanders. By pulling out of Mogadishu, the rebels may hope to spread thin the 9,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force that is propping up Ahmed’s Western-backed administration.

“There is no doubt we need more troops (peacekeepers),” said Ahmed.

The United Nations has authorized a task force of up to 12,000 soldiers.

When asked whether political negotiations with moderate groups within Al-Shabaab were an option, Ahmed said: “Our understanding is that Al-Shabaab ... are not interested in peace, but we will pursue that path if the opportunity arises.” Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst with the International Crisis Group, said Al-Shabaab was now too divided for any meaningful negotiations to take place.
Before, of course, they were too united for any meaningful negotiations to take place.
Posted by:Steve White

#2  or the UN will send in Paki peace keepers or trainers which ever one fits the description best
Posted by: chris   2011-08-11 21:03  

#1  You'll find them driving taxis in Colorado.
Posted by: Glavitle Bucket1058   2011-08-11 20:49  

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