Somali Islamic militia names terror suspect as new leader

June 24, 2006 (MOGADISHU) — A fundamentalist Muslim who is listed by the U.S. State Department as a suspected al-Qaida collaborator was named Saturday as the new leader of an Islamic militia that has seized control of Somalia’s capital.

The appointment of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys — announced by the group in a media statement — makes it unlikely that the increasingly powerful militia will govern using the moderate brand of Islam practiced by most Somalis.

In yet another sign that radical Islam is taking hold, the group changed its name Saturday from the Islamic Courts Union to the Conservative Council of Islamic Courts.

Aweys, a cleric believed to be in his 60s, has strenuously advocated for a strict Islamic government to end 15 years of anarchy in Somalia. In 1991, warlords drove out dictator Mohammed Siad Barre and turned on each other, turning the country into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms.

Aweys replaces Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who is more moderate.

Since seizing control of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia from warlords earlier this month, Ahmed has softened his rhetoric calling for strict Islamic, or sharia, law, and agreed to recognize the largely powerless interim government. That government is based in Baidoa, 150 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu, because the capital is so violent.

On Friday, a Swedish journalist was fatally shot in the back during a rally hailing a mutual recognition pact this week between the Islamic militia and the interim government.

Martin Adler, 47, was killed instantly with a single gunshot to his back in Mogadishu, where anger at foreigners runs high. His body arrived in Nairobi on Saturday aboard a Red Cross plane before returning to Sweden.

(ST/AP)