Monday, November 23, 2009
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a top official of the Hezb al-Islam group which alongside another Islamist movement controls much of Mogadishu, re-opened the El-Man natural harbour.
"This will help Hezb al-Islam to import and export whatever they want. The port will be under the control of Hezb al-Islam," he told a gathering.
"We encourage all Somalis to use it except the TFG and their associates," he added in reference to the transitional federal government and the African Union forces protecting it.
The Hezb al-Islam and the Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab militants have seized swathes of the capital since launching a deadly offensive against President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's government in May.
El-Man port was closed by the Islamic Court Union in 2006 after they unseated a coalition of warlords who had ruled the war-wracked city.
"The taxation from the main port which is under the occupation... has served only for the continuation of civil war in Somalia," Aweys said.