Somali strongman advises Uganda not to deploy

By Els De Temmerman
in Mogadishu

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (left), the political leader of the Union of Islamic Courts in Mogadishu, has said Ugandan soldiers should not deploy in Somalia because he does not want a Somali bullet to hit a Ugandan.

Asked what message he had for Uganda, he said, “Ugandans were our good brothers and neighbours. We like them.

“They have helped us a lot. But now, unnecessary tensions are cropping up because of the talk of them sending troops. We don’t want a Somali bullet to hit a Ugandan. Or a Ugandan bullet to hit a Somali. There should be no reason for that.”

Sheikh Aweys, who is on the US list of ‘most wanted terrorists and individuals supporting terrorism’, is strongly opposed to the sending of a peacekeeping force, as decided by the African Union and IGAD.
Uganda has volunteered to send troops.

Sheikh Aweys is clear about this: “Our reaction is no to foreign troops. “I really don’t understand the need for them. We have been against the deployment of foreign troops even when the situation was much worse.

“Now that most of the country is more or less secure, there is no reason for it.
“If they come, we will have no choice but to fight them. We will see it as an invasion.”

Source: New Vision, Sept 22, 2006