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Dutch held ‘heading for Somalia’

July 30th, 2009 | No Comments

Gunman in Mogadishu

Four Dutch nationals have been arrested in Kenya on suspicion of aiding insurgents in Somalia.

The four 21-year-olds, three born in Morocco, the other in Somalia, were stopped by Kenyan police as they were heading for the border.

The local police were not satisfied with their claims to be tourists.

There have been a series of recent reports that young men from the US, Europe and South Asia have joined the Somali insurgents in a "holy war".

Lamu District Commissioner Stephen Ikua told the BBC the four had travelled by boat from Lamu island before hiring a tractor.

He said it was possible they were headed to Somalia to assist one of the insurgent groups there and they would be interrogated in Nairobi.

map showing areas under Islamist control

The Kenyan authorities say they have arrested and deported several other young men from Tanzania and the United States in the same area for the same reason.

BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says in recent months eyewitnesses in Somalia have reported seeing foreigners amongst the insurgent fighters known as al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab wants to overthrow the UN-backed transitional government in Somalia and put in place strict Islamic law.

The hardline Islamists control much of southern Somalia.

Foreigners have headed to Somalia to take part in what they consider a holy war or jihad.

The authorities in Minnesota in the United States are investigating claims that several young men were lured to Somalia to fight.

Since early May, the fighting between the insurgents and the forces loyal to Somalia’s government has displaced nearly 250,000 people.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Extremists ‘have French hostages’

July 17th, 2009 | No Comments

Al-Shabab fighters in Mogadishu (file photo)

A second French hostage has been handed over to the hard-line Somali Islamist group, al-Shabab, government sources have told the BBC.

"If they are in the hands of al-Shabab it is very, very serious," said a source in the Somali presidency. The group carries out public executions.

The first man was reportedly given to al-Shabab on Thursday.

The two security advisers, who were training government troops, were seized from a Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday.

BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says that, unlike other insurgent groups in Somalia, al-Shabab is unlikely to be holding the men for ransom.

In its eyes, the pair would be enemies, he says.

"They could kill them, saying they are Christian, not Islamic and they could manipulate the situation for their own political demands, including their call for African Union troops to leave," the presidential source told the BBC.

He said the government was not able to negotiate directly with al-Shabab but had been talking to people claiming to be linked to the group holding the two French men.

Public killings

Al-Shabab and its ally Hizbul-Islam are fighting the UN-backed interim government and together control much of southern Somalia.

Both groups are said to have links to al-Qaeda and have been reinforced by foreign fighters.

Meeting al-Shabab

Somali justice, Islamist-style

map showing areas under Islamist control

A group of gunmen dressed in military uniform seized the men on Tuesday morning and handed them over to Hizbul-Islam.

The move apparently sparked a row with al-Shabab, which now seems to have persuaded the other group to hand the two men over.

BBC Somali Service editor Yusuf Garaad Omar says al-Shabab is known for being the more radical of the two groups.

He says al-Shabab cares little for its public image and has carried out killings on camera.

Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke on Thursday warned Hizbul-Islam it would "bear responsibility for any harmful action taken against the hostages".

The French advisers were helping to train the forces of the government, which has recently appealed for foreign help to tackle the Islamists.

The US last month confirmed that it has sent weapons to the government, which is also being protected by some 4,000 African Union troops in Mogadishu.

Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991.

Moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was sworn in as president in January after UN-brokered peace talks.

He promised to introduce Sharia law but the hardliners accuse him of being a western stooge.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Islamists ‘share French hostages’

July 16th, 2009 | No Comments

Two French security advisers seized in Somalia this week have been split up and are now being held by two different hardline groups, reports say.

The pair were snatched by gunmen from a Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday and were being held by the Hizbul-Islam group.

But officials say the al-Shabab group wanted them and after a row, Hizbul-Islam handed one of the men over.

Al-Shabab has recently carried out several beheadings, amputations and stonings in areas it controls.

They are allied with Hizbul-Islam against the UN-backed interim government and together control much of southern Somalia.

Both groups are said to have links to al-Qaeda and have been reinforced by foreign fighters.

A BBC East Africa correspondent, Peter Greste, says kidnappings in Somalia are normally about the negotiation of ransom payments rather than making violent points about foreign interference.

But he says this abduction has diplomats worried because making a point about foreign support for the government might be more valuable than demanding a cash payout.

‘Good health’

A group of gunmen dressed in military uniform seized the men on Tuesday morning and handed them over to the Hizbul-Islam group.

The move apparently sparked a row with the al-Shabab militants, who managed to persuade the other group to hand over one of the hostages.

Meeting al-Shabab

Somali justice – Islamist-style

An unnamed al-Shabab militant told Reuters the two men had been shared "to avoid clashes between Islamists".

Somali Social Affairs Minister Mohammed Ali Ibrahim told French media the government was trying to free the men.

"The Shabab party took one of the two hostages and the other is in the hands of the Hizbul-Islam, but we’re in negotiations with them and we’re hoping for a positive result," he said.

Mr Ibrahim said that Somalia’s prime minister had spoken to one of the hostages who was being held in Mogadishu and said they are apparently in good health.

Moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was sworn in as president in January after UN-brokered peace talks.

He promised to introduce Sharia law but the hardliners accuse him of being a western stooge.

The French advisors were reportedly helping to train the forces of government, which has recently appealed for foreign help to tackle the Islamists.

The US last month confirmed that it has sent weapons to the government, which is also being protected by some 4,000 African Union troops in Mogadishu.

Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Posts Tagged ‘africa correspondent’

Dutch held ‘heading for Somalia’

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