Somali President asks for Arab military support in face of rebels

June 24 (KUNA) -- The Somali president asked the Arab foreign ministers who held a scheduled meeting here on Wednesday for various forms of aid.Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed asked the Arab states in a letter addressed to the foreign ministers for Arab-African military support to quell the armed insurgency in his country, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told the officials during the meeting.The Somali president asked for economic, political and military support to help the Somali government confront the forces "that have been trying to undermine the regime and spread chias in the country," Moussa told the ministers, reading excerpts of the message by Sheikh Ahmed.Sheikh Ahmed asked for deployment of African and Arab military forces in his country to back up the government and foil the schemes of the "the evil and terrorist forces." He also asked for financial help for aiding the Somali army and make it able to restore law and order to the country.The Somali government has faced an armed insurgency by irregulars, mainly Islamic fundamentalists. (end) mab.mfm.rk KUNA 241645 Jun 09NNNN