Saturday, October 10, 2009
MOGADISHU, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Somalia's Hezbul Islam rebel group on Saturday threatened to attack UN offices planned to be reopened in Mogadishu, and ordered local and international non-governmental organizations to register with it, officials of the Islamist group said.
The group, which controls parts of central and southern Somalia, said it would carry out attacks on UN offices once the plan to reopen them in Somalia's capital was carried out.
The Somali government and UN officials this week discussed ways of relocating the UN Somalia office, currently in Nairobi, Kenya, to Somalia's capital Mogadishu. They agreed that the offices will be reopened after expert advice on the issue was considered.
Spokesman for Hezbul Islam, Mohamed Osman Arus, said his faction would target the UN offices in Mogadishu and "escalate" the attacks against the Somali government forces and African Union(AU) peacekeepers in Mogadishu if the offices of the UN was relocated to the capital city.
The group accuses the UN of supporting the Somali government and the nearly 5,000 AU peacekeeping soldiers deployed in Mogadishu, which the rebel group considers as an invasion force.
The UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and other UN agencies that support the fragile Somali government have their offices and staff in neighboring Kenya because of the deteriorating security situation in Somalia.
The Islamist group also asked local and international non-governmental organizations operating in areas under their control to register within 15 days with the movement's "Office for Social Affairs" in Mogadishu.
Hezbul Islam said it was issuing the order so as "to follow the work of the NGOs and what they are doing for the people" in areas under the movement's control.
The group threatened any organization who fails to register that "its status will be reconsidered".
Earlier this year, Al-Shabaab, another Islamist rebel movement that controls much of southern and central of Somalia banned the operations of four UN agencies in areas under its control.
The group accused the UNPOS, the UN Development Program (UNDP),the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), of being an enemy of Islam and Muslims.
Hezbul Islam and Al-Shabaab are fighting a deadly insurgency against the Somali government and the AU peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu.
Source: Xinhua, Oct 10, 2009