(SomaliNet) The president of Djibouti, Ismael Omar Gelle said his government was ready to host the leaders of the ousted Islamists if they request to be given political asylum in the country, Arab TV reports on Saturday. | Fine with me as long as they host them at the US base we maintain there. |
In an interview with the Al-Jazeera TV channel on Friday, Mr. Omar Gelle said that the Islamist leaders deserve to be given asylum. He said Somalia’s ousted parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, along with other MPs is in Djibouti. “But that does not mean that Djibouti backs Aden’s belief towards the Somali transitional federal government,” he said. Gelle showed dissatisfaction with the way the Somali government spread its power into other parts of the country. He said the Somali government did not have to use outside power. “However, my government will always stand by the Somali transitional government,” he said. He pointed out that the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia would not be part of the solution for Somalia.
He denied the US warplanes that struck southern hideouts of the Islamists and suspected al-Qaeda members flew from Djibouti, adding they took off from US aircraft carrier stationed at the coasts of Somalia. |