[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Somalia: Country's Veteran Soldiers Unite With Islamic Courts



Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
November 2, 2006
Posted to the web November 2, 2006
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu
Somalia's veteran national army has officially joined the Union of Islamic Courts on Thursday as the Islamists were preparing for an all out war with the Ethiopian and Somali federal government forces.
A ceremony for the unification of the Courts fighters and ex-national army has taken place at former Somali revolutionary political party headquarter in south Mogadishu.
The chairperson of the Islamic Courts executive council Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has delivered a speech at the ceremony, encouraging the soldiers, who marched in the headquarter, to defend stand for their religion and homeland against Ethiopia.
"The peoples of Ethiopia and Somalia are brothers and it is not Ethiopian population that is attacking our country but it's the Tigre government led by prime minister Males Zenawi that is attacking us", Sheik Sharif said.
Ahmed said that the Ethiopian troops who were at the border of Eritrea and Ethiopia were transferred to Somalia, threatening the Ethiopians in Somalia would face grief consequences in Somalia.
"The Ethiopian troops in Somalia would have their graves dug in Somalia and we will capture most of them alive", said Ahmed.
The news comes hours after the Khartoum talks between the Islamic Courts and the interim government has ended in failure, as both contesting groups could not compromise over conditions they presented before the talks.


Ahmed promised to former Somali national forces that they would take their salary starting this month of November.
Ahmed Guled, one of former veteran officers, said he was happy to serve his country once again, alleging they would defeat the Ethiopians.
It is the first forces unification since the Union of Islamic Courts has seized control of the capital Mogadishu early June this year.