Hiiraan Online
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has, on Tuesday, visited military training camps in the districts of Wadajir and Dharkenley, in the north of the capital,
Mogadishu. The President, whose weak Federal Transitional government is locked in a fierce fighting with several Islamist groups trying to overthrow it, commended the troops for their bravery and patriotism. The President was accompanied in his visit with some members of parliament and senior military officers, including commander in-chief of army forces, General Yusuf Hussein Osman. Heavily armed AMISON troops were deployed in the area to ensure security of the President.
In a speech to the troops, who have completed several months of training, the President lashed out at opposition groups for waging a senseless and endless war against the Somali people. “The faith of Islam was not introduced to Somalia by force and those who are trying to impose their will on the Somali people will never succeed” said the President. He said that “the Muslim scholars and sheikhs who had introduced Islam to our country did not kill one single person. They introduced Islam through peaceful teaching”. The President also accused the groups, who are opposed to the TFG, of using unethical and unlawful tactics to collect money from people in the areas under their control by levying taxes on businesses and individuals. “They force people to buy products which these groups have imported such as women’s clothing”. President Ahmed has not named the groups he was referring to, but his statements were interpreted to be aimed at the two main armed opposition groups, Al-shabab and Hisbul Islam.
President Ahmed also blamed the opposition groups for being responsible for political assassinations that have created insecurity in the capital, Mogadishu. “Residents of the city are scared to pray in Mosques for fear that they may be killed as they leave the Mosque” he said.
During his speech, the President thanked the residents in the two districts of Wadijir and Dharkenley for welcoming and supporting their troops, urging the troops to work with the people. “The people in these districts have refused to adopt destructive and divisive ideologies out there and you have to cooperate with them” the President declared.
Finally, the President has urged the troops to earn the support of their people by protecting them and by restoring peace and stability to their country. It was last week when President Ahmed made a similar visit to Halane and Jasira Military Recruitment Centres in the west of the capital.