Al-Majallah (in Arabic) – Report by Husayn Ramtan in Cairo: “Ethiopia Instigates Washington To Strike Somali Independence-Seeking Movement”

[FBIS Translated Text] Al-Majallah has learnt from Somali sources in Cairo that Washington has recently received misleading reports from Ethiopia to launch a strike against Somali territories in the next stage of the US-led antiterrorism war. These reports alleged that the Islamic Union (Al-Itihaad Al-Islami) movement in Somalia is one of the active organizations of Usama Bin Ladin’s al-Qa’ida.

CIA men visited Somalia, met with opposition Somali factions, and received their unequivocal assurances of cooperation with the CIA against members of the Somali Islamic Union. Although the Somali leadership assured the CIA that members of the Islamic Union movement do not exist in Somalia anymore, Washington was still not convinced.

The Islamic Union movement represents an extension of political Islam in the Middle East. It was involved in political action in Somalia after it made a decision to renounce military violence. Washington, however, does not believe this. It froze the funds of “Al-Barakat” Group, which is owned by a UAE businessman. The company is viewed as one of the biggest currency exchange companies that handle the transactions of Somalis abroad. Washington believes “Al-Barakat” Group works under Bin Ladin’s umbrella. These transactions play a pivotal social role in the Somali economy.

Observers think the main reason behind the Ethiopian reports is the fact that the Islamic Union movement is active in Ugadin Province, which calls for independence from Ethiopia, particularly that the Islamic Union receives support and legitimacy from being an Islamic movement. Ethiopia is working hard to accuse the Islamic Union movement of terrorism by giving Washington misleading reports in the hope that Washington would deal painful strikes against this movement inside and outside Ugadin Province to get rid of it once and for all. To waste the chance for Ethiopia, the Somali Government, under its President Abdiqasim Salad Hasan, decided to open Somali territories to US authorities to search for fleeing men from al-Qa’ida.

Washington is currently watching Somali shores on the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, specifically Marka coastal city, the Islamic Union’s political, military, and financial center. This is in addition to combing Kismayu [as transliterated] in southern Somalia. The city is located on the Ethiopian-Kenyan borders 500 kilometers far from the capital of Mogadishu. The US presence is also distinct in the city of Brava on Somalia’s southern coast. Reports confirmed that 17 US naval units moved toward Somali shores under air cover. The US plan to strike Somalia will involve unconventional military strikes manifested by deploying US troops on Somalia’s coasts to forestall any al-Qa’ida men from arriving there and then identifying areas, which Washington views as military training centers for terrorists, including Brava city.

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