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| Somali militia battlewagon |
MOGADISHU, Somalia Dec 2 (Garowe Online) - The head of information for the Islamic Courts movement has claimed that their militia captured battlewagons imported from neighboring Ethiopia and intended to “disturb” the delicate security situation in Mogadishu and other places.
Speaking at a press conference Saturday in Mogadishu, Abdurahman Ai Mudey said that 7 battlewagons – pick-up trucks mounted with heavy guns – were taken by Islamist militia in the Livestock Market area of Mogadishu after suspicions of an Ethiopian connection.
He said that the Islamists were in pursuit of other weaponry in Mogadishu, including weapons in the hands of private business groups.
However, independent sources have confirmed to Garowe Online that the captured battlewagons belonged to businesspeople who intended to transport militia and weaponry to parts of Galgadud region in central Somalia.
The sources said that the businesspeople intended to establish a functioning Islamic Court in the El-Dher area, where their sub-clan traditionally lives.
There are talks currently underway in Mogadishu between the aforementioned businesspeople and Islamist officials, who have claimed that the battlewagons came from Ethiopia.
Garowe Online News
