Somali Islamist leader urges withdrawal of Ethiopian forces

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

DJIBOUTI (AFP) — Somali Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed called for the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces in the war-riven country to boost efforts aimed at restoring stability.

Ahmed, who spoke on Saturday at the end of a week-long gathering of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) -- an opposition group, also urged the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers.

"The withdrawal of Ethiopian troops would speed up peace for the people of Somalia," he told AFP.

"If the international community deploys UN peacekeepers, there is a great hope that peace would prevail in Somalia," Ahmed said.

Ethiopia sent forces into Somalia in late 2006 to help the Somali government dislodge an Islamist movement that had taken control of much of the...