Sunday, November 02, 2008
Mogadishu, Somalia (AFP) - SOMALIA'S top Islamist leader has returned to his stronghold in the southern city of Jowhar, two years after Ethiopia ousted him, aiming to push for implementation of a deal to restore peace.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, 44, who heads the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), flew in from Nairobi to be greeted by thousands of supporters.
"The reason I came to you is to explain what we have achieved and the agreement we reached with the transitional government in Djibouti," he later told local officials, elders and traders.
The deal calls for an Ethiopian troop pullback and ceasefire this month and for joint security units to take over gradually until UN peacekeepers are deployed.
The ICU's military and youth wing, the Shebab, has rejected the deal and refused to negotiate until a full Ethiopian pullout is completed.
Source: AFP, Nov 02, 2008