From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Tue Sep 02 2008 - 05:35:54 EDT
Somalia: Insurgent commander speaks at Mogadishu press conference 'in
person'
2 Sep 2, 2008 - 10:29:12 AM
MOGADISHU, Somalia Sep 2 (Garowe Online) - One of Somalia's most brutal
and well-known warlords held a press conference Monday in the national
capital Mogadishu, speaking in public for the first time since the
Ethiopian invasion of December 2006.
Yusuf "Indha Ade" Mohamed Siad, who ruled Lower Shabelle region and was
instrumental in the rise of the Islamic Courts in mid-2006, spoke in
person with a group of reporters and allowed TV cameras to record his
press conference.
The former warlord of Lower Shabelle condemned recent comments
attributed to Mr. Andrew Mwangura, who is the East Africa Coordinator of
Seafarers' Assistance Program.
Mr. Mwangura accused Indha Ade of using ransom money collected by
pirates to buy new weapons and capture towns to strengthen the
anti-Ethiopia insurgency.
In his defense, Indha Ade distanced himself from piracy links and said
the "accusations are aimed at destroying my reputation," while blaming
piracy on Puntland President Adde Muse.
Indha Ade, who is security chief for the Eritrea-based opposition group
Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, cited a BBC interview where
President Muse admitted that pirates "own big homes" in Puntland, but
that local authorities cannot due anything about it.
Further, Indha Ade suggested that the Puntland leader is planning to use
money collected from ransom payments to fund his bid for re-election.
Puntland presidential elections are scheduled to be held in January
2009, with President Muse declaring his candidacy for a second term in
office.
On the Djibouti Agreement, which was signed by ARS Chairman Sheikh
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and called for a ceasefire, Indha Ade said Sheikh
Sharif is "still our leader," but was critical of Sheikh Sharif's
decision to sign a peace deal with the Ethiopian-backed Somali interim
government.
He condemned recent overtures to deploy a joint force of Somali
government troops and Islamist fighters loyal to Sheikh Sharif to towns
controlled by the Islamic Courts, including Jowhar. [ Full story]
Many in Somalia believe that Indha Ade is a clan warlord and is not
fighting for an Islamist cause. During his reign in Lower Shabelle,
Indha Ade used loyal clan fighters to suppress the region's unarmed
clans into submission.
Source: Garowe Online
<http://somaliswiss.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/indha-cadde.jpg>
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