New Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed bowed yesterday to demands from Islamist insurgents after the fiercest clashes since he took office, agreeing to a truce and the introduction of Shariah law.
Ahmed, a former Islamist rebel leader who was elected president on Jan. 31, said he had accepted proposals by local and religious leaders mediating between his government and the hardliners.
“I met with religious leaders and elders and accepted their demand for ceasefire and reconciliation with the opposition members and I call on all opposition parties to halt the unnecessary violence,” Ahmed told reporters. “The mediators asked me to introduce Islamic Shariah in the country and I agreed.”
Hardline Shebab militia and other Islamist fighters have waged battles against the government and its allies since and before Ahmed came to power, vowing to fight until all foreign forces withdraw and Shariah law is imposed.
At least 30 people were killed this week in the bloodiest clashes since the president, a moderate Islamist, was elected.
African Union (AU) peacekeepers, who are constantly under attack from Islamist insurgents, are the only foreign troops left in the country after Ethiopian soldiers pulled out last month.
“We asked the president to implement Islamic Shariah in the country and accept mediation,” said Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, chairman of Somalia’s Union of Islamic Scholars and one of the mediators. “He agreed and we hope this will end the violence in the country.”
The proposal to introduce Shariah law must still be ratified by Somalia’s parliament.
Ahmed became president following a UN-brokered reconciliation in Djibouti that aimed to try and bring some kind of stability to the Horn of Africa state after years of unrest.
After his Islamist movement was ousted in early 2007 by Ethiopia-backed Somali forces, Ahmed formed an opposition umbrella that later entered into peace talks with the Somali transitional government.
The Islamist forces opposed to the UN-sponsored reconciliation bids have launched several deadly attacks against the government and AU forces in recent days.
The attacks were seen as a warning to Ahmed, who has vowed to stabilize Somalia.
The Shebab also claimed responsibility for a suspected suicide attack against AU troops in Mogadishu that killed 11 Burundian peacekeepers yesterday.
Last month, they took control of the south-central Baidoa town, which hosted the transitional federal parliament after Ethiopian troops withdrew.
When in power in 2006, the Islamists introduced a strict form of Shariah and carried out executions, shut movie theaters and photo shops, banned live music, flogged drug offenders and harassed civilians, mainly women, for failing to wear appropriate dress in public.
They also banned foreign music, romances between unmarried teens, all commerce and public transport during prayer times and decreed that Muslims who do not pray daily can be punished by death.
Upon his election, Ahmed vowed to build an inclusive government, reach out to hardline groups and bring Somalia back into the regional fold.
On Saturday, he said the new government of 36 ministers had moved back home to Mogadishu after beginning its work in exile in Djibouti.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
RSS