Nairobi
14 March 2008
In a fresh sign that militant Muslim fighters in Somalia have adopted tactics used by the al-Qaida terror network, Somalia's radical Islamist Shabab group has beheaded three government soldiers guarding a road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the first case of beheadings in the country since an Islamist-led insurgency against Somalia's Ethiopian-backed interim government began more than a year ago and comes amid a new initiative by the interim prime minister to engage opposition groups in peace talks with the government. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.
Last week, Ethiopia's close ally and president of the interim government, Abdullahi Yusuf, accused the al-Qaida terror network of sending foreign fighters trained in Afghanistan to train and support Shabab fighters in Somalia.
Hinting that the allegation may have merit, Muktar Robow accused the Somali leader of being hypocritical for welcoming foreign troops to Somalia, but not foreign fighters.
The Shabab commander said, "Abdullahi Yusuf is allowing soldiers trained in Ethiopia to operate in Somalia. What would be the difference if those trained in Afghanistan stay here with us?"
On Wednesday, Somalia's interim Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein announced that the government is ready to negotiate with any and all opponents and opposition groups to end the country's 15-month-old insurgency and begin the process of national reconciliation.
It is still not clear whether that means the government is also extending an olive branch to the Shabab. President Yusuf has repeatedly said he will never negotiate with any group that has ties to terror organizations.