Somali Islamists Warn of Regional War

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From the new World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
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2//The News International, Pakistan Monday, October 09, 2006 Updated at 0400 PST

http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp#10911



SOMALI ISLAMISTS WARN OF REGIONAL WAR



MOGADISHU: Somalia's powerful Islamist movement warned that a regional Horn of Africa war could erupt unless the world presses Ethiopia to withdraw troops it has reportedly deployed in Somali territory.

The Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) said the alleged Ethiopian presence in the country would doom peace efforts between it and the weak Somali government and spark conflict that might engulf neighboring states.

A day after the Islamists ordered parts of the border with Ethiopia closed, accusing Addis Ababa of invading, mining and shelling Somali territory, they called for international pressure on neighboring Ethiopia to pull back.

"We are not attacking or creating violence inside Ethiopia, so we ask the international community to press Ethiopia to get out of Somali territory," said SICS executive committee chairman Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

"Otherwise, the consequences will be grave and the pain of war will spread all over the region," he told reporters after meeting Italy's envoy to Somalia, Mario Rafielli, in Islamist-held Mogadishu.

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