Somalis 'defending themselves'

2007-03-22 11:02

Mogadishu - The leader of Somalia's weakened Islamist movement on Wednesday defended the bloody insurgency in Mogadishu, saying people had a right to defend themselves against foreign invasions.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a hardline cleric designated a terrorist by the United States, said the Somali people had been "harassed and mistreated".

"If all foreign troops leave Somalia, we will settle our differences and everybody knows that," Aweys told the BBC Somali service.

"The people who are fighting in Mogadishu are defending themselves and nobody will question that right," he said from an undisclosed position inside Somalia.

Aweys spoke hours after angry Somali crowds burned and dragged the bodies of dead soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu, where some of the heaviest fighting for months claimed as many as 14 lives.

His powerful Islamic Courts Union was ousted from south and central Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu, in January by joint Somali-Ethiopian forces, but his supporters have vowed to wage a guerrilla war.

A planned 8 000-strong African Union force is trying to help Somali government troops regain control, and some 1 500 Ugandan troops have already deployed to Mogadishu.

Although his movement has been blamed for the attacks that have killed dozens of people and displaced at least 40 000 since the start of the year, Aweys refused to confirm his involvement.

"It is not important whether the Islamic courts are involved or not, what is important is what the people are doing to defend themselves. They will defend themselves, individually or as a clan," he added.

- AFP