Somali gov’t appeals for help in fighting militants because gov’t alone can’t defeat them
By APMonday, August 30, 2010
Somali gov’t appeals for help to fight militants
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s government is appealing for more help in its fight against powerful militants who have recently intensified their attacks.
President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed said Monday it was unrealistic to expect the forces of an ill-equipped government to battle the al-Qaida-linked group al-Shabab.
Ahmed compared al-Shabab’s attack on a Mogadishu hotel that killed more than 30 people last week to the violence against governments in Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan.
He said the world must give Somalia’s violence the same priority accorded to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which Washington considers to be a major threat.
Al-Shabab carried out twin bombings in Uganda during the World Cup final, killing 76 people.
