24 March 2009

Al-Shabab bans Khat and cars with opaque glasses in Baidoa Mogadishu: The Islamic Movement of Al-Shabab has formed its first administration in Baidoa town the headquarters of Bay region in southern Somalia since it has taken control of the after kicking out the Ethiopian invader troops two months ago.

The Al-Shabab movement has also banned the selling of Khat a certain narcotic plant which majority of the Somalis munch and arrives from Meru a town in Kenya, and cars with opaque glasses apart from those ones of the officials of Al-Shabab.

“Today the 24th of March the Islamic Movement of Al-Shabab has formed an administration in the town of Baidoa the headqurters of Bay region, and the regional commissioner from today henceforth is Sheikh Abdi Hafid Omar Ibrahim” said the chairman of Al-Shabab movement in the regions of Bay and Bakool Sheikh Hassan Mohammed Ali Best known as (Abuu Ayman) in a press conference.

The former administration of Bay region is currently fugitive in the Somali, Ethiopian border town of El- Barde, and in the course of last week their was deadly battle between the forces loyal to Al-Shabab and that of the Somali puppet government in the town of Rabdhure some 180 km northwest of Baidoa town. In that battle the Al-Shabab movement has claimed victory and said that it has killed 16 of the Somali puppet government soldiers.

Foreign Minister Talks About His Demand of Foreign Troops

Meanwhile, Somalia's foreign minister Mohamed Abdulahi Omaar talked Tuesday bout his demand of foreign troops and said he was very sorry about that his speech hurt the feeling of the people.

"The aim of the government and the people are the same. The government wants what the people want," the minister said.

The foreign minister said the African Union troops will leave when the Somali government gets its forces trained and equipped.

A recent call by Somali Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdulahi Omaar from the UN Security Council for more peacekeepers to Somalia drew an uproar from the pro-government clerics and civil society groups, which forced government officials to distance themselves from the minister's statement, saying the government only wanted to request" military aid and not for more peacekeepers".

Asked about his request he replied that the troops he demanded from Uganda and Burundi were peacekeepers that would replace those already in the country.

"The troops from Uganda and Burundi are changed every three or four months so what we are talking about are the troops that are changed. We told the Security Council that the troops we want are troops that will work our order until we build our own national security forces," he said.

Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmake made an apology a bout the demand by the foreign minister for further troops from African Union.

Mohamed Abdulahi Omaar also hailed the decision by the Somali clerics. He said the clerics gave the government good chance referring to the four months that they had previously asked the government to tell the African Union troop from Uganda and Burundi to leave the country with in 120 days.