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Hardline Somali leader 'elected' Somalia militant warns of war
(about 4 hours later)
A hardline Islamist has claimed leadership of Somalia's opposition, ousting a more moderate rival. An Islamist leader in Somalia says he will step up an insurgency against his country's government after taking control of an opposition alliance.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed had been voted out because he had attended UN-sponsored peace talks in Djibouti last month. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told the BBC that he wants to oust the Ethiopian forces protecting Somalia's weak transitional government.
He also criticised Mr Ahmed for agreeing to a ceasefire with the Ethiopian-backed Somali government. He made the comments after claiming control of the exiled Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS).
A spokesman for Mr Ahmed dismissed the move and described the vote as "null and void". He said he had replaced Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as leader.
Mr Aweys takes over as head of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS), which is based in Eritrea. Mr Aweys said a ceasefire agreement with the Somali government signed by Mr Ahmed had no effect.
"Now I Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys am the chairman of the executive committee as well as the general head," he told Reuters news agency. But his claim of control over the opposition alliance has been rejected by moderate Islamists.
Mr Aweys is the founder of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) that ruled much of Somalia in 2006 before being ousted by Ethiopian forces backed by Somali government troops.Mr Aweys is the founder of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) that ruled much of Somalia in 2006 before being ousted by Ethiopian forces backed by Somali government troops.
Humanitarian crisis He has been accused by the US of links to al-Qaeda.
Somalia's interim government and some members of the ARS - including Mr Ahmed - signed a deal in Djibouti calling for the deployment of UN peacekeepers and agreeing to a ceasefire after a month. The UIC has been divided into moderates, led by Mr Ahmed, and hardline militants, led by Mr Aweys.
Mr Aweys and other hardline Islamists rejected the pact, which has had no apparent effect in alleviating the continuing violence. Last month Mr Ahmed signed a UN-brokered ceasefire agreement in Djibouti that was meant to pave the way for power-sharing.
The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the current fighting threatens to wreck all efforts to resolve a humanitarian emergency that could soon rival Somalia's famine in the early 1990s. It was rejected by Mr Aweys.
'No dialogue'
In what has been seen as a political takeover at the Islamists' headquarters in exile in Eritrea, Sheikh Aweys says that he has assumed the leadership from Sheikh Sharif following a vote.
"We said no dialogue or agreement with that government until we kick the enemy out of Somalia and the government with them," Mr Aweys told the BBC.
The BBC's David Bamford says that whether this latest development leads to a further reinvigoration of the anti-Ethiopian campaign or leads to factional fighting between rival Islamists depends how favourably the leadership coup by Mr Aweys is received.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the current fighting threatens to wreck all efforts to resolve a humanitarian emergency that could soon rival Somalia's famine in the early 1990s.
According to one estimate, more than 8,000 civilians have been killed and one million forced from their homes since the start of last year by fighting between the interim government and Islamist insurgents.According to one estimate, more than 8,000 civilians have been killed and one million forced from their homes since the start of last year by fighting between the interim government and Islamist insurgents.
Somalia has experienced almost constant civil conflict since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991.Somalia has experienced almost constant civil conflict since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991.
Successive droughts have left an estimated 2.5 million in need of food aid.Successive droughts have left an estimated 2.5 million in need of food aid.
The UN expects that figure to rise sharply if droughts and insecurity continue.The UN expects that figure to rise sharply if droughts and insecurity continue.