'US supports Somali warlords'

2006-05-03 14:46

Stockholm - Somalia's president says the United States is funding an alliance of warlords fighting radical Islamic militias in his country - and the US should be working directly with his government instead.

Speaking during a two-day visit to Stockholm on Wednesday, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed said: "We think it is true, they are supporting the warlords."

Rumours of US support for the alliance, which includes members of the interim Somali cabinet and armed businessmen, have become rampant in Somalia.

The US said American officials had met with a wide variety of Somali leaders in an effort to fight international terrorists in the country.

Ahmed said he believes the American government is supporting the warlords-turned-politicians as a way of fighting several top al-Qaeda operatives, protected by radical clerics.

'They think they can capture al-Qaeda'

Ahmed said: "They really think they can capture al-Qaeda members in Somalia.

"But the Americans should tell the warlords they should support the government, and co-operate with the government. We are the legitimate government, and we will help you fight terrorism."

He said US support for the warlords could undermine the Somali government's efforts to bring stability to the region: "These groups, they really do not want Somalia to become a stabilised country. They do not want the government to function."

Somalia has not had an effective central government since clan-based warlords overthrew the government in 1991, and then began fighting each other.

US officials 'visit rebel leaders'

A transitional government headed by Ahmed was formed in October 2004, but its members split over what the government's priorities were and where it should be located.

Several key warlords in the new government have formed an alliance with the stated aim of capturing al-Qaeda members in the country.

The alliance for the restoration of peace and counter terrorism was formed after a fundamentalist Islamic group began asserting itself in the capital and portrayed itself as an alternative to warlords.

Fuelling suspicion that the group is receiving outside aid, the alliance has become one of the most powerful militias in Somalia in a matter of months.

Residents of alliance-held areas report trucks full of new weapons, and Somalis with connections to the alliance say US officials have visited alliance leaders.

- AP