Tuesday, June 14, 2011
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Mogadishu, Somalia (HOL) - Somalia’s hard lined Islamist group, Al-Shabaab on Tuesday vowed to continue their attacks against targets of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) and African Union troops in the capital Mogadishu.The group’s spokesman, Sheikh Abdiaziz Abuu-Musab said in a press conference that the group will increase attacks against TFG officials as a way to curtail the efficiency of the beleaguered authority.
He said Attacks will be similar to the one that a few days ago killed Interior Minister Abdi Shakur Sheikh Hassan who was assassinated in a suicide assault at his home in the capital.
"If TFG officials will not end there enmity against Muslims, we are going to target them, particularly we will use the style that we used to kill the interior minister and others before him” said Abuu-Musab
“We have previously targeted TFG officials who were engaged in organizing and planning fighting against the Al-Shabaab movement”
The militant leader warned government officials to stop what he called infringement of Islamic religious tenets and harassment of Muslim faithful in Somalia, otherwise he said they will engage a bloody encounter that the groups says will deny TFG officials any peace.
"The Mujahideen have killed Omar Haasho who was an influential planner of the fighting against Al-Shabaab. The Mujahideen also killed Sheikh Hassan Koryooley who for three years fought against us” he said at one point reading a long list of Al-Shabaab victims.
In recent months Al-Shabab - which has links with al-Qaeda - has lost territory as Somali government troops and African Union soldiers have been on the offensive. The group however still controls much of southern and central areas of the country.
Meanwhile a senior United Kingdom representative for Somalia strongly condemned the cruel suicide attack that killed Somali government interior minister Abdishakur Sheikh Hassan Farah over the weekend.
Mr. Matt Baugh said that on behalf of his government he was very shocked by the deadly attack on the minister, while offering condolences of the government and people of Somalia.
“This was a cowardly and callous attack. The tragic and untimely death of the minister only serves to strengthen the cause of bringing stability to Somalia,” Baugh said in a press statement mailed to Hiiraan Online.