Somalia cautious on reports U.S. funds fighting
BAIDOA, Somalia, May 1 (Reuters) – Somali leaders expressed concern but could not confirm growing reports that Washington is financing a group of powerful Mogadishu warlords who have styled themselves as an anti-terrorism coalition.
The warlords have been involved in several bouts of fighting with militia linked to Islamic leaders. About 100 people have been killed in the violence, the worst in Mogadishu in years.
The perception of U.S. involvement has given rise to new fears that Mogadishu’s militia battles are shifting from the commercial to the ideological, and creating a new arena for Islamic militants to fight what they call Washington’s war on Islam.
The United States has been rumoured to have paid the coalition in exchange for help tracking down al Qaeda militants who move freely amid the anarchy in Somalia.
“We have no official communication but these rumours are everywhere,” Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi told reporters on Monday when asked about reports of U.S. cash arriving in Mogadishu.
The United States has never directly confirmed or denied suggestions it backed warlords in the Horn of Africa country of about 10 million, which has been mired in anarchy since its last national president was ousted in 1991.
“We do not expect the American government to just pump dollars to Somali people to create problems. They are our friends and we expect friendship from them,” Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan added.
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Apparently like most Americans, some Somalis have a hard time wrapping their heads around just what the American government is capable of.