Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2014 01:00:50 +0100
Somalia: Al Shabaab refuses to negotiate with Federal Govt
Feb 25, 2014 - 11:12:18 AM
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Al Shabab spokesman Shiekh Ali Dheere has dismissed in an exclusive
interview with Al Jazeera hopes that the December appointment of Abdiweli
Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed as the new prime minister of Somalia would lead to
negotiations between the government and the al-Qaeda-linked group.
Al Shabab's Sheikh Ali Dheere said, "The people we are fighting with is
because of ideology. They want to colonise us. They want to erase our
religion, our people and our land. Those people bring a new face every time.
Every new person that comes into office works for them. So for that reason,
they are no different to us. Whomever the Christians bring, no matter their
name or background, we will not negotiate with them because they have no
decision-making powers. They have no powers to refuse or accept anything.
What you lose by force you return by force. We will not negotiate with
anyone. The country is ours."
al-Shabab was pushed out of Mogadishu in mid-2011 but in the last few weeks
has claimed responsibility for a series of suicide bomb attacks, as well as
Friday's unsuccessful attack on the presidential compound.
When challenged about the civilian casualties involved, Dheere said, "Anyone
who works for the apostate government, no matter where and at what level,
they are supporting the apostates and the Christians who sent them. Our
stand is clear is on such people. We will fight them and kill them anywhere
we see them. Anyone who supports the Christians, either through the pen or
by carrying a weapon, they are the same to us and we will kill them. We
don't kill civilians who don't work for the apostate government. We protect
them. We do not harm them."
Dheere said al-Shabab is also targeting Turkish nationals working in
Somalia. "We want to tell the Turkish people their government is an enemy to
the existence of the people, the country and the religion of the people of
Somalia. Them building roads, schools and hospitals is similar to a man who
wants to slaughter a goat. If he feeds that goat, is it any good to that
goat? He is going to slaughter it anyways. The schools they have built, they
teach our Somali children bad behavior; they teach them music; they teach
them everything that is bad for them.
"The biggest enemy of the Muslim people is NATO and Turkey is part of NATO.
NATO is a union of Christians. They are the number one supporters of that
union. NATO uses Turkey as the hammer that's used to crush Muslims. They
first came into the country saying they are here to help the people. They
then start saying there is military agreement between them and the apostates
and AMISOM. They train the intelligence services. They have taken off the
shirt they were wearing when they came in and put on another one. Anywhere
we see Turkish people, they are no different to us than the Americans, the
British and AMISOM."
According to Dheere, al-Shabab is fighting for the Muslims who live in
Mogadishu. "They are the people whom we want to free from the enemy. We take
great care in protecting them. We don't just go and blow a place up or fire
bullets aimlessly. There is a lot of intelligence before an operation. We
only attack a place when we are sure the people in there are the apostates,
the Christians and those that support them."
He admitted there may be Muslim casualties. "We pray for that Muslim person
and the martyr who carried out the operation to go to paradise. Also we have
warned the Muslim people not to go close to apostate bases and where the
Christians are. Most of the population has heeded our warning."
He denied that al-Shabab has been pushed out of many towns in Somalia. "The
towns you mentioned that al-Shabab left, we did not leave because of a
military defeat. If an army is defeated, their weapons are seized, their
soldiers are killed, their deaths publicized. None of that happened. That
shows al-Shabab left those towns on their own accord. al-Shabab leaving
those towns only shows a change of tactics. al-Shabab will not be finished.
Somalia belongs to al-Shabab. The land and the people are ours. We will not
leave our land because of an enemy. We hope to be back in those towns as
soon as possible."
The Kenyan government has claimed that the Westgate Mall attackers are dead,
which Dheere questioned. "All that Kenya said, nothing is believable.
Nothing of what they said is true. Look at how many times they went back on
what they said. They first said there were 18 individuals in the mall. Then
they said they were 15. Another time they said they were 4. Another time
they said a woman was leading them. They said they were all dead. Another
time they said they were alive. Even when people could hear the bullets,
they were saying the fighting was over. That shows what they say has no
basis. It is not something anyone can believe. In our own time we will say
whether the men are alive or not. For the individuals involved and for
military reasons we will not disclose now."
To watch the interview,
<http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/02/somalia-al-shabab-group-vows-c
omeback-20142248557425260.html> visit
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/02/somalia-al-shabab-group-vows-co
meback-20142248557425260.html.
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