Hiiraan Online
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
MOGADISHU (HOL) – A top Somali businessman who helped finance the ousted Islamic Courts Union has slammed the Al-Qaeda linked group in Somalia for maintaining killing and bombing campaign against civilians in the horn of Africa nation, in a rare criticism by the businessman who often maintains a low-profile away from the political spotlight.
Al Shabab is waging a deadly guerilla war across large parts of Somalia to impose a sharia law into the largely conservative country which is recovering from decades of war.
“They say Al-Qaeda is doing these things, but I have to say I am not supportive for the killing, bombing of civilians and mosques by al-Shabab.” said Abukar Omar Adani at a press conference in Mogadishu on Monday.
Mr. Adani has however called for Somalis to practice sharia law by avoiding ‘lies’ by western governments.
“It’s better that we live side by side peacefully rather than heeding to christians’ dictating terms and policy.” The 80-years-old businessman said.
He said that he was also moved by the growing number of regional states that he said continue to lead the country into recurrent political instability.
“It’d never serve for the good of our country to have six presidents who do merely listen to Ethiopia and that’s the root cause of our problem– there’s no one working towards the stability and sovereignty of the country.” He said in one of his rare public appearances.
Having lived a self-imposed exile in Mogadishu for years after Ethiopian troops ousted the Islamic fighters in 2007, Mr. Adani, a Mogadishu-based influential businessman who had previously been mentioned as the chief financial backer of the Islamic Courts Union had returned to Mogadishu after Ethiopian army pulled out of Somalia after a peace deal between the then Somali transitional government and the Islamist group in Djibouti.
However, al-Shabab group has since emerged, ousting remnant of UIC fighters and consolidated power after the seizure of large parts of Somalia before the African Union ousted their fighters from key strongholds including the Somali capital few years ago.