US 'not destabilising Somalia'
2006-06-07 09:34
Mogadishu - The US has denied it is destabilising Somalia by supporting local warlords and insisted it needed to fight the presence of al-Qaeda in the east African country.
In the wake of Islamic militias' seizure of power in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, US state department spokesperson Sean McCormack said: "We certainly want to work with people in Somalia who are interested in combating terrorism.
"The presence of foreign terrorists in Somalia is a destabilising fact in and of itself.
"I would just go back to the sad fact that violence is not new in Somalia, and it's certainly not new in Mogadishu. This is a place that has known violence for the past, you know, almost since 1991 - coming up on two decades now."
Bloody battles with US-backed warlords
McCormack spoke a day after Islamists militia declared victory following four months of bloody battles with a United States-backed warlord alliance for control of Mogadishu.
On Tuesday, heavily armed Islamic gunmen and alliance fighters faced each other in a tense standoff in the lawless capital.
The city remained fractured along clan lines with warlords vowing not to bow to demands to surrender.
'Tragic situation'
McCormack said: "It's a tragic situation for the Somalian people. It's a real source of concern for the international community.
"We do have concerns about the presence of al-Qaeda in Somalia."
But, he refused to supply evidence supporting the claim that the Osama bin Laden-led terror group was present in Somalia.