Somali leader wants united front against extremism

Somalia's new president called for a united front against violent extremists and signaled his intent to try to bring together the country's feuding Islamic factions, according to an interview published Sunday.Moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed was sworn in Saturday and faces the daunting task of leading a Western-backed government that wields little control over a country that has suffered nearly 20 years of violence and anarchy.
"I say it is now high time to achieve national unity, forget our differences, unify our ranks and confront those who commit violence," Ahmed was quoted as saying by the English-language Saudi Gazette.Ahmed was chairman of the Islamic Courts Union that ran Mogadishu for six months in 2006 before Ethiopian soldiers drove them from power.
The group's extremist breakaway militia, al-Shabab, has now taken much of the country, forcing lawmakers to meet outside of the country. The U.S. considers al-Shabab a terror organization with links to al-Qaida..more..http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/1012049.html