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The chairman of the Islamic courts in southern Somalia, Hassan Sheik Mohamed Abdi, told IRIN in an interview on Thursday that the Islamic courts were the only force capable of preparing Mogadishu for the reception of the new government.
“The first step we have to take is to clear up the gangs,” he said. “We talked to the people and we announced that they must leave the government buildings... we will give them time - say one week or 10 days - for everything to be all right.” In the interview, he said he believed 95 percent of people in Mogadishu would go along with the new government, but that the other five percent were “capable of doing anything”. He also said in the interview that in clearing the armed gangs over the last two years in southern Somalia, about 2,500 people had been imprisoned and were being held in jails in southern Somalia.
He also said they had had successes in reducing the number of militia road blocks and protecting property: “We have a lot of technicals (vehicles converted into gun carriages), cars and soldiers, guns and arms, of course. This comes from the businessmen who are helping us to improve the life of the people and security.” [The full IRIN interview will be published shortly].
Conference sources emphasised to IRIN that it was crucial for the new government to garner the support of the business community.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
