Ahlusunna ask for Somalia PM position in talks with govt

17 Feb 17, 2010 - 9:02:52 AM

Somalia's pro-government Islamist group Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jamaa is reportedly negotiating for the position of the country’s premier in the on-going talks with the UN-backed transitional federal Somali government.
Officials from both sides are holding preliminary talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, and according to sources, the talks' theme has changed from discussions on how best to integrate their forces and face their common enemy, Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam to negotiations on power sharing.

Ahlusunna militia

The government side is led by Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, Postal and communication minister Abdirisaq Osman Hassan (Jurille) and political advisor to the president lawmaker Mustaf Ahmed Dhuxulow (Dhegdher).
Confidential sources say the meeting, which is strongly backed by concerned parties led by African Union including neighboring countries, is meant to push for the inclusion of Ahul-Sunnah into the fragile government.
The sources add that Finance Minister Sharif Adan and his Postal and communication counterpart Jurille are engaged in campaign to drum up support for their different successors of the Premiership position with all going for officials from Ahlu Sunnah.
Sheikh Adan is said to be uncomfortable with current Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke who hails from Somalia’s Puntland state.
However, the strengthening of Ahlu Sunnah's power, a group which only took arms after Al-Shabaab desecrated the tombs of their important sheikhs, poses the biggest nightmare for Sheikh Sharif's government.
The fragile government is reportedly mulling over plans to curb the supremacy of the group once the other Islamist groups are eliminated out of the political scene.