Somali President Yusuf accuses Pakistan, Iran of supporting "terror groups"
MOGADISHU, Somalia June 8
The president of Somalia's transitional government hurled heated accusations against the Pakistani, Iranian and unnamed Arab governments during a newspaper interview.
President Abdullahi Yusuf told the Arab daily al-Hayat that there are many countries who are actively working against his administration by supporting "terror groups" operating in Somalia.
The Somali leader named Pakistan and Iran among other countries who are perpetrating the ongoing conflict by investing in terror groups who use violence to wreak havoc in Somalia.
Asked about the Ethiopian intervention, President Yusuf defended his Ethiopian allies by saying that the troops were in Somalia legally because they were invited by the country's legitimate government.
The Ethiopian troops will remain in Somalia until the transitional government defeats "anti-peace" and "terrorist" groups intent on destroying the UN-recognized government, Yusuf said.
The Somali president also said his government had allies in the Arab world, and he named Lebanon in particular. President Yusuf appealed to all these countries to help his government restore order after 16 years of anarchy.
Ethiopia deployed thousands of troops into Somalia in December after an Islamist militia controlling Mogadishu threatened to attack Baidoa, which was the government's temporary base at the time.
After joint Ethiopian-Somali troops conquered Mogadishu, an Islamist-led violent insurgency erupted that has led to hundreds of deaths since early January.
