Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
Abdinasir Moh-Guled
15 October 2008
Mogadishu — A senior Somali Islamist opposition leader sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys has supported the firing of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as the chairman of the Islamic courts union.
Speaking to Shabelle radio by phone from Eritrean capital Asmara Sheikh Aweys has accused Sheikh Sharif of rerouting of the UIC's system.
"We (UIC)_want to be on the way of the straight way of the Islamic courts union, Sharif left the promises of the Islamic courts so it was needed to fire him" said Aweys, 62, who is wanted by Washington for suspected links to Al-Qaeda.
In the recent times UIC's officials came to view of disagreement that caused them to separate several sides including those based in Djibouti and second group based in Asmara while the third groups based in Mogadishu.
Aweys's remarks come following a delegation from Eritrea based UIC group arrived in Mogadishu and announced at a press conference that the group elected Sheikh Omar Iman as the new chairman, replacing Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at the top.
The told reporters that the new executive council chairman will hold office "until the next gathering."
Sheikh Omar Iman, the chairman-elect, lives in Eritrea and was deputy of the Islamic Courts' legislative council (Shura) since 2006.
Some Islamic Courts officials rejected Sheikh Omar Iman's ascension to the group's top.
They urged to hold another (Shura) meeting to review on that matter.
A senior commander in the UIC says the fighters in Somlia are Neuter; and doesn't concern" about the growing political dispute among Islamic Courts leaders.
Sharif still appears that he has support from officials in the UIC those have power in the advancement of the council.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since the Horn of Africa nation dictator Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. In 2006, US-backed Ethiopian troops invaded the country in an attempt to back Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
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