un staff withdrawing

Mohamed Abdi Farah

(SomaliNet) Somali’s Islamist group ruling much of southern and central Somalia described on Thursday the decision by the United Nations withdrew its international staff from areas controlled by Islamic Courts in Somalia as contrary to the progress of Somalia nation. The decision infuriated the Islamic Courts.

Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the leader of executive council of Islamic Courts who held this afternoon a news conference condemned the move in which the UN announced that it pulled out its foreign staff from southern and central Somalia as unwanted and hasty action saying the Islamic Courts couldn’t understand what compelled the UN to take such action.

“The Islamic Courts see the UN move as hostile action against the social development in Somalia in term of security and the newly borne peace in the country,” Sheik Ahmed said. “The withdrawal by humanitarian aid agencies is apparently underground war against the Islamic Courts and its supporters because there is stability in the country,”

The UN said on Thursday it had temporarily pulled international staff out of parts of Somalia after receiving threats in areas controlled by Islamic Courts who continue to grab more lands.

UN officials did not give any detail about their decision over the international staff that was pulled out of parts of Somalia.

Asked whether the United Nation is referring the insecurity resulted from the recent killing of the Italian nun in Mogadishu in 17 September and day after Somali president Abdulahi Yusuf escaped an assassination attempt in Baidoa, Sheik Ahmed dismissed the allegations over that issues.

“Even if they assumed that like it had better for them to notify us before they left the country to find out the threats,” he said. “you know that individuals were arrested for the case of the murder of the Italian nun and still Islamic courts conduct investigation to reveal the culprits as we have earlier told the Italian government,”

He denied the Islamic Courts involvement of the bomb attacks in Baidoa, southwest of Somalia aimed to kill President Abdulahi Yusuf.

Sheik Ahmed also said in his press conference that they had received a secret document over the war plan by Ethiopia government.

“We have found that hundreds of Ethiopian troops massed Galkaayo city, the capital of Mudug region in central Somalia where they were forcing the people to fight against Islamic Courts and we are also aware of that Puntland involves in that mission but I hope Islamic Courts will get the upper hand,” Sheik Ahmed said.

The Islamist leader also denounced the Washington and Addis Ababa cooperation over tracking down what he called the none-existed terrorist operatives in horn of Africa.

He rejected the presence of any terrorists in Somalia.