Somali government declares state of emergency
June 23rd, 2009 - 12:55 pm ICT by IANSMogadishu, June 23 (Xinhua) The Somali government has declared a state of emergency in the war torn country as government forces battled insurgents.
“The Somali government decided to impose a state of emergency on the country so that we can overcome the difficult situation the country is going through,” President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said at a press conference in Mogadishu.
The Somali president signed the declaration Monday after the Somali cabinet voted to impose the state of emergency on Somalia last week.
The Somali government has been battling with Islamist insurgents for the past several weeks in renewed fighting in the north of Mogadishu.
Four senior Somali government officials were separately killed in insurgent attacks last week while hundreds of civilians and combatants were either killed or wounded in the clashes.
The Somali president accused the radical Islamist Al-Shabaab movement of using foreign fighters in their war against the government. He said foreign terrorists from Al Qaeda network are fighting alongside local Al-Shabaab group who he said want to make Somalia “a terrorist safe haven”.
Somalia has been through nearly two decades of civil strife and the current Somali government is the fifteenth attempt at setting up a strong central authority.
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- 9,000 displaced in Somalia violence - May 27, 2012
- Four peacekeepers killed in Somalia - Aug 30, 2010
- Drone crashes near Somalia refugee camp - Feb 04, 2012
- 23 killed, dozens injured in Somalia fighting - Jun 03, 2010
- 20 dead in Mogadishu fighting - Jun 19, 2010
- 15 dead, 25 injured in fresh clashes in Somalia - Aug 28, 2010
- Somali insurgents back Al Qaeda, clashes claim 16 lives - Feb 01, 2010
- Islamist rebels receiving weapons from Yemen: Somali minister - Jan 04, 2010
- At least 32 dead, including MPs, after hotel attack in Somalia - Aug 25, 2010
- Somali premier resigns amid spat with president - Sep 21, 2010
- Roadside bomb kills eight in Somalia - Sep 01, 2010
- 10 dead in suicide blast at Mogadishu airport - Sep 09, 2010
Tags: al qaeda, al qaeda network, civil strife, civilians, clashes, combatants, foreign fighters, government forces, government officials, insurgent attacks, insurgents, june 23, mogadishu, safe haven, sharif, sheikh ahmed, somali government, somali president, state of emergency, xinhua