MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 25 (UPI) -- A Muslim cleric in Somalia, who may be tied to al-Qaida, Friday vowed a Jihad if foreign peacekeepers are stationed in the east African nation.
The warning came from Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a senior member of the Islamic courts who is accused by the United States of having links to the terrorist group led by Osama Bin Laden.
The peacekeepers were requested by President Abdullahi Yusuf, who wants them to protect his government-in-exile when it relocates from Kenya, the BBC reported. Somalia has been controlled by rival warlords for the past 14 years.
Aweys, who denies there are terror groups in Somalia, says it will be the religious duty of all Somalis to fight any peacekeeping force that may be sent from Uganda and Sudan.
