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Saturday, December 20, 2008
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News Africa
Somali fighters warn Western powers

Abu Mansoor said al-Shabaab will fight "oppression" elsewhere once Ethiopian forces are defeated [AFP]
An armed group battling Ethiopian forces in Somalia has told Al Jazeera it will take its fight beyond the country once it defeats its rivals.

"We are fighting to lift the burden of oppression and colonialism from our country ... We are defending ourselves against enemies who attacked us," Abu Mansoor, the leader of al-Shabab, said.

"Once we are successful with that we will fight on and finish oppression elsewhere on earth," he said.

Al-Shabab, meaning youth, split last year from the Islamic Courts Union which controlled much of Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu, until it was pushed out by government and Ethiopian troops in 2006.

It has since retaken large areas of central and southern Somalia and is putting increased pressure of the transitional government, which exercises little control from its base in the town of Baidoa.

'Islamic rule'

In Marka, just 90km from the capital Mogadishu, Ibrahim Almaqdis, one of the fighters, told Al Jazeera: "We wish to tell Bush and our opponents our real intentions.

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"We will establish Islamic rule from Alaska and Chile to South Africa, Japan, Russia, the Solomon Islands and all the way to Iceland, be warned, we are coming."

Abu Mansoor said that al-Shabab's ranks had been bolstered by foreign fighters and urged others to join, saying that a core principle of the group was that all Muslims are citizens of Somalia.

"Many have already died fighting our cause and many others are here with us," he said.

"We shall welcome any Muslim from any part of the world who wants to join us. We will allow him to wed our daughters and share our farms."

The group was created in 2001 by four Somali men who had trained in Afghanistan and is listed as a "terrorist organisation" by the US.

Relative peace

The Islamic Courts Union brought relative peace to the Horn of Africa nation during its six months in control, enforcing strict laws and renewing hopes that the Somalia would become stable enough to allow aid agencies the freedom to operate.

However, their defeat by the Ethiopian and government forces has brought renewed violence as various anti-government forces have mounted near-daily attacks.

In Marka, Al Jazeera found people welcoming al-Shabab and dressing their children like the fighters who have been the only people to bring some semblance of peace to Somalia in recent years.

More than one million people have been displaced by the fighting in Somalia, one third of the population rely on emergency food aid and the chaos has helped fuel kidnappings and piracy off the coast.
 Source: Al Jazeera
Feedback Number of comments : 21
 
Brent Erickson
United States 		20/12/2008
Oppressive?
This article points to nothing but hypocrisy. Al-Shabab is quoted within the article saying "We will establish Islamic rule from Alaska and Chile to South Africa, Japan, Russia, the Solomon Islands and all the way to Iceland, be warned, we are coming." How can this not be seen as oppressive? This is very bold and purely immature to think one culture can rule this world of ours. There will be resistance and I doubt a single nation can take on the rest.

Gregory Taylor
United States 		20/12/2008
Since Abu Mansoor has declared war on the rest of the world ("we will establish Islamic rule from Alaska and Chile to South Africa, Japan and Russia"), I guess it will be ok if the rest of the world destroys his country. If Islam can use force to spread Islam, it should be ok if the rest of the world uses force to spread christianity, judaism, athieism or any other ism we happen to fancy. There will never be piece as long as idiots like this have power.

Victor
United States 		20/12/2008
True intentions
At leaqst they are honest about their true intentions of spreading their brand of Islam all over the world. Didn't Nostradamus say something about the end of the world? Are we getting closer?

Farah
United Kingdom 		21/12/2008
The Best Dream!!!
Dear Abu Mansour, your dream is the best dream over the world and I hope it will become true in the future. However, at this stage it is better to unite the Somali people let alone other countries.

fazaldin
Kenya 		22/12/2008
i think al shabaab should look toward uniting somalia rather than getting attention form the west who they have now given every excuse to attack somalia and exploit somalia in the name of fighting extreemism as they have with Iraq.It seems that they have little knowledge of the military might that indivijual countries have let alone the world.My muslim brothers should aim to rebuild somalia by using the islam tought to us by the Prophet(saw)and not the version they they only assume to be right.

Ysmhael
Philippines 		22/12/2008
Hatred to west
Fighters believe it is duty of everyone to establish the law of God (from genration to genration - current generation is Quran) in every corner of this earth like the claim of some Americans to establish democracy on this earth. The later recruited and trained individual to implant democracy and US power by all means - peaceful or aggression. At this era whoever wants to declare Quran as their law, west ( US & allies) made scapegoat to stop it. Why? This implanted hatred to follower of Quran.

abdifatah
Afghanistan 		20/12/2008
warning 2 westen powers
this guy is day dreaming somebody work him up,this dud has no idea of what the quran says if he new he wouldnt be killing women & children thinking he`s spreadin islam,& on top of that callin on foregners 2 come fight marry somali women & own land who gave him the power 2 sale somalian land & women this is the most idioti thing i hav eve herd,what sura in the quran says go beyound ur country & force people 2 islam did this idiot 4get sura AL_KAFIRUN,LAKUM DINUKUM WA LIYA DIN.

Mike
United States 		20/12/2008
Theres Only So Much Room On The Earth
The world is over-populated. Perhaps it's time that someone just has to leave. I vote for these people. They are primitive and uncivilized. I suppose they may consider me and my ilk to be primitive and uncivilized. Perhaps peace and diversity are just illusions.

adib
Indonesia 		21/12/2008
instinct
yeaaa... just like US spreading "so called democracy" by force to the rest of the world... just like soviet did with their communism... just remember your school teacher teach you about European gold, gospel and glory... it's just our instinct... we have it even since we're still not evolved to homo sapien yet... and those Somalians just try to having their chance.. just like the most of the rest of the world already did it before.. -juzanotherpointofview-

OMAR
Italy 		21/12/2008
Somalia
Surely Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab and all the so called terrorist groups have something right to say to the world as all the revolutionary movements like marxists or fascists. But they tie their ideas to the religion while the world goes towards secularization. All religions are put in crises by the science and modern tecnologies. The actual global crisis is a demonstration that there is something wrong in the western power to be fought

umar turki
Somalia 		21/12/2008
world in danger
the world had ignored somalia just like afghanistan during soviet war invasion in afghanistan, and put delibrate blind eye to somali situation for years, now the world is waking up when its already too late and seeds of extremism has been planted in secular somalia! and i dont belive somalia would ever be the same before the war, SOMALI HAD BECOME AFGHANISTAN! AND WOULD TAKE YEARS TO CUT THE TREES OF EXTREMISM IN SOMALI SOCIETY, all this hypocracy is responsible by one man, George W Bush

bennegan
United States 		22/12/2008
Bad strategy
Al-Shabaab has a poor strategy and their timing is off. Declaring war on the whole world makes the whole world potential allies against them. If they had declared war against one country, say, a very unpopular USA, then maybe Japan and Europe and whoever else wouldn't have felt compelled to make this their war and stayed out of it. But now the US can make a case to other nations that we all need to send troops and money to fight this common enemy.

Iqbal
Afghanistan 		22/12/2008
CALIPHATE
To all those who are being influenced by this delusion, where is the blood of the first three caliphs TODAY in Saudi Arabia?!!! Also look around you TODAY the tricks of the second wife against the children of the first - and the falsehood will become very clear. The real successor of the Prophet (PBUH) was announced at Gadire Khum by HIMSELF he did not need anybody to decide after his death least of all any political jewel of Medina !!

Robert
United States 		23/12/2008
Special
There are two bit criminal gangs in the US that wield as much power, and have similar levels of morality, as this unaware boaster. The only difference is when a criminal gang in the US boast of taking over the world news sources ignore their inane rants.

Iqbal
Canada 		24/12/2008
I hope for the sake of Somalians that extremists like this do not remain in power for much longer. In the name of Islam, they have driven their once prosperous country into immense poverty. If their actions lead to such famine and poverty as in Somalia, then how are they any better than the US or the communists or the Nazis?

halima mahamud
Somalia 		25/12/2008
alshabaab worn the west
somalis can defend their land against outside aggression like we always had since memorial times. somalia is ancient country which had seen foreign invaders and bravely defeated enemy with last man,the problem is not america, the problem is alqaida,i iam in mogadishu personally and i saw palestinian,afghan, and sudanese,yemenis and iraqis jehadist who had been given women,land and free visa to to turn somalia into new afghanistan.lets clean the poison we gave birth to before america

Mohamed
Canada 		25/12/2008
continue
and of course major corps exploiting human beings till death. Even year 2009 proved that the ecconomical system is a failure as well. True Islam was not witnessed since 1924. Now all muslim countries are ruled by super power western puppets. Its so extreme that in pakistan the government helps the US to bomb its own ppl. In egypt muslims face torture and death. But the true Islam was actualy the first system, believe it or not, to bring the ideology of human rights. Even before France.

Allan
Argentina 		25/12/2008
War in Somalia
I don't think this man has a clue of what he is really talking about! Yes, talk is cheap, but why does one pay attention to an idiot like him?

Muslim
Somalia 		24/12/2008
So fast So furious
No doubt alshabab has pushed ethiopia to withdraw its troops, and George Bushs hypocritic agenda has failed, and so far wat i have seen is as the only solution to stop alshabab is by supporting the real prefered leaders by the somalis, then only alshabab will have no place in the society. i think alshabab will be there as long as there is american hypocricy.

Draconius Horribilis
Afghanistan 		25/12/2008
Are You Kidding Me?
This moron must be high on Khat! Islam will NEVER rule the world. You can bank on that. While the West is soft and cowardly, do you think the Russians and Chinese would allow it?

Boston
United States 		13/01/2009
Somali warns western powers
HA HA HA HA HA HA !!!! Got to be kidding? Yep I'm shaking in my boots that the Somali fighters will come kicking my door down. Get a life you bozo.

 
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