Egypt dismayed by Somali accusations of arming Islamic militants

Middle East Times
July 31, 2006

A chartered plane sits on the ground at Mogadishu airport, Sunday, July 30, 2006. The first commercial flight in more than a decade departed Mogadishu International Airport on Sunday, illustrating the complete control held by Islamic militants who have seized the capital and much of southern Somalia. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

Egypt "regrets the statements which appeared in the media made by the head of the Somali interim government, in which he describes efforts by certain countries including Egypt to destroy the interim government and spread terrorism in Somalia," the statement said.

On Saturday Gedi accused Egypt, Libya, and Iran of "contributing to the violence in Somalia through Eritrea."

Government officials had previously alleged that two mysterious Russian-made Ilyushin 76-cargo planes bearing the emblem of Kazakhstan that landed in Mogadishu last week were carrying arms shipments from Eritrea.

"Everyone knows, especially officials in the Somali government, about the ongoing efforts undertaken by Egypt to support peace and stability in Somalia," the Egyptian statement said.

"These efforts included offering all the support to the Somali interim government and getting all the regional and international parties to encourage the Somali parties to engage in dialogue," it said.

Gedi's claim came amid heightened tension in Somalia over the deployment by Ethiopia - Eritrea's arch-foe - of thousands of troops to protect his interim government from the Islamic alliance.

In Somalia, an Islamist leader also rejected the allegations as irresponsible.

"The statement by Ali Mohamed Gedi about arms showed lack of responsibility and less attention to the interest of the Somali people. Those claims did not warrant us to reply," said Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a hardline cleric listed by the United States as a terrorist for suspected links to Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.

"We do not have any words to answer this kind of allegations. These reckless charges were not expected from a person who claims national responsibility," added Aweys, who chairs the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia.

Somalia has had no functioning central authority since 1991. In the past 16 years of violence and chaos, warlords seized control of government buildings and property.

A transitional government, set up in neighboring Kenya in 2004 and now based in the town of Baidoa northwest of Mogadishu for security reasons, has been wracked by infighting and unable to assert control over much of the country.

Islamists have moved to fill the power vacuum, defeating the US-backed warlords in months of bloody fighting, extending their reach to Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia and imposing strict Sharia law in areas that they control.