Former Somalia pres declares jihad on Ethiopia

Wow, this comes as absolutely no shock. As I've said before, the ex-pres is still bitter that his mock government didn't get off the ground. An irrelevant ex-politician is so sad to watch trying to squirm back into the seats of power...

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Abdiqassim Salat, former Somali president, wants to wage "jihad" to remove Ethiopian troops from Somali soil

MOGADISHU, Somalia Nov 7 (Garowe Online) - A former Somali president has announced that he is ready to wage jihad against Ethiopian troops who have invaded Somalia, joining Islamist calls and demonstrations for such fight.

Abdiqassim Salat Hassan, who was elected as Somali president in 2000, said that it is “compulsory” upon every Somali citizen to defend the nation against Ethiopian aggression.

“I am ready…to fight jihad against Tigre troops who have invaded Somalia,” said the former Somali leader in an interview with Mogadishu-based radio.

Witnesses and analysts have confirmed the presence of Ethiopian troops inside Somalia, even though Addis Ababa only admits that it sent a “few hundred” armed military trainers to back the Baidoa-based interim government.

Ethiopia is currently led Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a staunch supporter of the Baidoa-based interim government and a member of the minority Tigre ethnicity of Ethiopia.

Abdiqassim Salat further stated during Tuesday’s interview that, as long as Ethiopian troops remained inside Somalia, he believed that the Islamic Courts should not open negotiation talks with the government.

Ex-President Abdiqassim said he welcomed the change the Islamist have brought to Mogadishu and to other areas under their control.

During the interview, Abdiqassim Salat did not mention the presence of pro-Islamist Eritrean soldiers inside Somalia who number some 2,000 troops, according to a leaked UN report that placed pro-government Ethiopian troop numbers inside Somalia as high as 8,000 soldiers.

Garowe Online News