DPA
Sunday, February 04, 2007
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Yemen has granted political asylum to head of Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who is expected to leave Kenya for Yemen on Monday, Yemeni officials said Sunday. "The Yemeni government has granted Sheikh Sharif refugee status and residence permit," a senior Yemeni government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
He said Yemen regards Sharif as a moderate among the leaders of the Somali Islamic movement.
Yemeni officials believe that Sharif, whose movement controlled the Somali capital Mogadishu and most of central and southern parts of the Horn of Africa country for six months last year, could play a key role in reconciliation in the anarchic country torn apart by clan rivalries.
"He is a moderate person and could help avert the resurgence of violence in Somalia," the Yemeni official said.
Sharif gave himself up to Kenyan authorities on the border with Somalia last month after his movement lost its grip on Mogadishu to Ethiopian-backed government troops in December.
Since the defeat of the Islamic Courts' forces, Yemen has granted refuge to several Somali Islamic leaders.
Somali Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed agreed last week to hold a reconciliation conference aimed at restoring political stability to his country. If successful, the reconciliation process might draw the once-powerful Islamists into a power-sharing government.
Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi recently said he would speak with Sheikh Sharif.
Source: DPA, Feb 04, 2007