Leader of Islamic Courts Council says he will resist government's attacks

(30 Dec 2006)
1. Wide of crowd
2. Mid of executive leader of the Council of Islamic Courts, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, zoom in
3. Mid of Islamic Court's leader, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, pan left to Ahmed
4. Wide of crowd and Islamic Courts Union (ICU) militia
5.SOUNDBITE (Somali) Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, executive leader of the Council of Islamic Courts:
"The Somalis are ready to resist, we are ready for that, and we have decided to fight the enemy. God is great, God is great. We have decided to fight. Therefore, we have entered a new period because we have been working for the security of the people. But today there is another great event because the country is occupied and the country needs its independence."
6. Aweys walking away with ICU militia
STORYLINE
The head of the Islamic grouping that ruled Mogadishu for six months pledged on Saturday to continue to fight against Somali and Ethiopian troops.
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the executive leader of the Council of Islamic Courts, told residents in the coastal port of Kismayo, where the group's forces are now based, that "Somalis are ready to resist" and that "we have decided to fight the enemy."
Several thousand Somali and Ethiopian troops were headed to the southern seaport, a government official said on Saturday, setting the scene for a final showdown.
Meanwhile, Somalia's president flew to the outskirts of Mogadishu aboard an Ethiopian military helicopter on Saturday,
as his government moved ahead with plans to move to the Somali capital.
President Abdullahi Yusuf met with key Somali elders in a bid to smooth the takeover of the city, 48 hours after the
Islamic movement's fighters abandoned the capital.
Although his UN-backed government was established in 2004, it has never had control over Mogadishu or many other
parts of the lawless country until Ethiopia stepped in.
His transitional government has been forced to base itself in Baidoa, a dusty agricultural town 250 kilometres (150
miles) away.
Yusuf has vowed to crush the Islamic movement with the help of Ethiopian muscle.
Many in overwhelmingly Muslim Somalia are sceptical of the government's reliance on neighbouring Ethiopia, a
traditional rival with a large Christian population and one of Africa's largest armies.
Ethiopia and Somalia fought a bloody war in 1977.

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