Attempts to end the conflict in Somalia is gaining international support with the recent pledge of $213.3 million (Sh16.8 billion) at a conference in Brussels.The latest move came after the new Somalia President, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, received a very warm welcome at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa.Days before his arrival in Addis, Sheikh Sharif could not imagine he would be welcome in the capital of the state whose troops he fled in 2006.But, one would have assumed that having been the leader of the Islamic Courts Union that once led Somalia, Sheikh Sharif would be adored and that the radical Al-Shabaab would dare not harm him as they tried on many occasions against the more secular Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who resigned in December.Sheikh Sharif actually came close to death on Tuesday when an SU-23 missile was fired at his plane as it approached Mogadishu after a stopover in Nairobi on his way from the Brussels conference.The SU-23 is an anti-aircraft gun made in the former Soviet Union. It is a deadly weapon that can knock down any aircraft. It was the type of the weapons loaded on MV Faina that was freed by Somali pirates in March.Sheikh Sharif was lucky. His aides say the artillery came too close but did not find its target, as the weapon needs good aiming.
Radical elements
Already, even before the attack, the African Mission in Somalia (Amisom) was receiving calls from the radical Al-Shabaab group that they should leave Somalia. Sheikh Dahir Aweys, who has a big following among radical elements has declared that he will never have talks with Sheikh Sharif’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) before Amisom troops quit the country.more..
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