20100405
ALLAFRICA

Mogadishu — Sheikh Ali Mohamud Raghe alias Sheikh Ali Dhere, the spokesman of al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist movement that fights the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia has sworn that his group will capture Mogadishu before the supposedly EU trained forces in Uganda reach the Somali capital.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon in Mogadishu, Sheikh Ali Dhere reacted to the notion that 2,000 soldiers were going to be trained in the East African country by European instructors in order to perk up the military capability of the TFG.

He said the EU had supported both the pro-government forces and the peacekeepers serving the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).

"This is an extension of the Europeans' service to the government and Amisom," said Sheikh Ali Dhere.

He added that his movement was planning to overwhelm both the TFG and Amisom before the new force comes to Mogadishu. "By capturing the city, we are going to deprive the new force a place to land and operate from," said the sheikh.

According to Reuters, European Union governments said last Wednesday they had given the go-ahead for a military mission to start on April 7 to train Somali forces battling an Islamist insurgency. The mission is going to be led by Spain.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Ali Dhere warned the pirates operating along the Somali coast to refrain from hijacking boats and ships.

The clergyman was retorting to reports that the pirates have recently captured several boats and ships sailing towards Mogadishu and Kismayu ports in Southern Somalia.

"I advise the pirates to stick to their former excuse of countering foreign ships trespassing the Somali waters and illegally exploiting resources," he remarked.

Somali businessmen have recently complained of pirates seizing nine boats on their way to Kismayu and Mogadishu ports, affecting their businesses and commodity prices.