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| Africa Horn |
| Somalis protest against Shabab in Mogadishu |
| 2010-03-30 |
| Hundreds of enraged protesters marched through the streets of Mogadishu on Monday to protest against the Shabab, a militant Islamist insurgent group, in one of the largest demonstrations in recent years. Men, women and children flooded the rubble strewn center of town and shouted out slogans against the Shabab, who have steadily alienated the population by imposing amputations and digging up the graves of revered Islamic clerics. “We don't want grave diggers and we don't want the Shabab!' the protesters yelled. The protest was led by a moderate Islamist group of Sufi clerics who have driven the Shabab out of several towns in central Somalia. Sheik Abdulkadir Mohamed Somow, one of the Sufi clerics, told the crowd that their group, AhluSunna Wal Jama, “will not tolerate further the Shabab's grave excavation activities in Mogadishu' and he called upon Somalis to wage holy war against the Shabab. Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama recently signed a power sharing agreement with the transitional federal government, which controls only a small fraction of the Mogadishu, the capital. The agreement was intended to help the government go on the offensive against the Shabab in a planned upcoming military operation, which will most likely involve thousands of African Union peacekeepers. The Shabab recently dug up at least seven graves of renowned Sufi clerics, according to Somali media reports. In 2008, the Shabab desecrated the graves of renowned Sufi clerics in areas under their control, pushing Sufi followers to take up arms. The Sufi version of Islam, which is more mystical and centered on an “inner jihad,' is one of the more popular sects in Somalia. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 They didn't get mortared? The boyz must've been sleeping off their khat high. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-03-30 11:03 |
| #1 How refreshing! |
| Posted by: newc 2010-03-30 10:52 |