01/11/08 (B472) Shabelle : Le Gouvernement de transition accuse un religieux somalien qui a été arrêté d’avoir des liens avec les Al Shabbab. Somali government accuses detained cleric of Alshabab membership (En Anglais – Info lecteur)

Somalia’s transitional government has put blame on Somali cleric that has been arrested by the troops on Friday.

The spokesman of Somali president Hussein Mohamud Hubsired told Shabelle that following investigations they’ve carried out they detected that the cleric is member of Alshabab groups.

He added that the time he was detrained he was carrying arms.

Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, who is also the imam of Hamaweyne district’s Fiyore mosque, was detained as he was heading to his home. Crowd of people tried to prevent the arrest, but stepped aside when confronted by the soldiers.

Several people on the street arrested from the cleric shouted « Allahu Akbar! », or « God is Great! » and jostled with the soldiers as they pushed the cleric, dressed in a black robe and turban, out to army vehicle to take him into prison.

Troops put Sheikh Hussein in a military fighting vehicle and drove him away.

It’s yet unknown the motive behind the cleric’s arrest.

Somali forces have been battling Islamist fighters since late 2006 when joint Ethiopian-Somali troops drove out the Islamists from power.