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Eight Arrested in Somalia Over Alleged Terrorism Links
NAIROBI, Dec 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Somalia supported its claim of allegiance to the international fight against terrorism Friday by announcing the arrest in Mogadishu of eight foreigners allegedly linked to terrorism, news agencies reported.
But there were reports that at least some of those detained Thursday were hapless Iraqi refugees, dumped in the stateless Horn of Africa state with no way of leaving, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
An earlier report by BBC's online service said that at least five had been arrested, of whom four were Iraqi Kurds and one a Palestinian.
The eight were arrested by a "counter-terrorism task force" in several swoops and were being questioned by intelligence services.
"They are suspected of terrorism. We are investigating right now," a source who asked not to be identified said.
Other alleged terrorists were still being sought Friday, the source added.
The BBC report quoted one of its correspondents as saying that the arrests are "almost certainly a consequence of pressure from the Americans."
U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern over the suspected presence in Somalia of groups or individuals linked to international terrorist groups such as Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, although the Pentagon on Thursday denied reports that Somalia was its next target in this campaign.
Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) has just as frequently expressed its determination to join in the international campaign against terrorism.
This interim regime came to power after a decade of lawlessness, during which Somalia existed without a government.
The TNG has not managed to extend its control beyond pockets of the capital and has numerous enemies, including many Somali militia leaders.
Some of the warlords opposed to the TNG have loudly accused it of having terrorist links, without following up their accusations with much in the way of proof.
"The Somali people must show the world they are as clean as anybody else. Anybody with links [to terrorism], we must investigate them," the Somali source said.
"The Somali people have suffered enough. We don't want to fight a war that we did not ask for," he said, referring to speculation that the United States planned to target Somalia next in its campaign against terrorism.
On Monday, Somali Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah dismissed fears of a U.S. military strike on his country, calling such an action unwarranted.
"We are not Talibans, we have never invited terrorists. There are no terrorists. There are no more al-Qaeda bases, no more al-Itihaad bases, they were dismantled in 1997-98," he said.
Al-Itihaad, an Islamic organization, appears on a U.S. State Department's list of groups linked to terrorism.
Confirming the arrest of a number of Iraqis in Mogadishu, a senior police officer said the men were being detained "for their own safety." Their arrest was not linked to terrorism, he said.
An AFP reporter in Mogadishu said at least three of the detained Iraqis had been in Mogadishu for many months.
One of the detainees gave AFP a detailed account, in which he said the group had arrived in Somalia after being deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they were considered undesirable aliens.
Last month, one of an estimated 12 Iraqi refugees in Mogadishu told AFP that he had fled his own country in 1991 and, after some years in Iran, traveled to the UAE to seek his fortune.
There, he was arrested, tried, jailed and then given a one-way ticket to the lawless Somali capital.
Attempts to cross borders into neighboring countries, such as Kenya, remained futile. This became even more difficult after the deadly attacks against the United States on September 11.
Meanwhile, a briefing on a three-day visit by Nairobi-based U.S. diplomat Glenn Warren to Mogadishu earlier this week was cancelled Thursday without explanation.
Warren, a political officer concerned with Somali affairs, was in Somalia for "continuing diplomatic exchanges," a spokesman for the embassy in Nairobi said on Wednesday.
The envoy was the first U.S. official to visit Mogadishu since the deadly September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
"We want to make sure that Somalia doesn't become a safe haven for terrorists or for people fleeing from Afghanistan or elsewhere," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher on Thursday.
"We will continue to discuss this with people in Somalia and consider how we can make sure that Somalia doesn't become a safe haven," he added.
Earlier this week, AFP reported that some U.S. authorities had met with leaders of some of the opposition forces, including the Rahanwein Resistance Army and an Ethiopian-backed faction.
The U.S. government does not recognize the TNG as the government of Somalia, but Boucher said that the U.S. had met with opposing parties because, "I think we want to work with anybody who is prepared to work with us on this."
With additional reporting by Ayesha Ahmad, IOL Washington Correspondent
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