Islamic courts leader surrenders
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is detained by Kenyan authorities close to the border.
Kenyan officials have said that Ahmed has been flown to Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, and is being held in a hotel.
However, Farih Muallim, leader of the For The Sake Of Kenyan People’s Party, ruled out reports that Ahmed was in detention.
“I think that Sheikh Ahmed is in Kenya upon an invitation by the US embassy, as the US ambassador to Kenya said days ago he would like to meet “moderate” figures from the Islamic courts”, Muallim said.
National reconciliation
Mohammed Adow, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Mogadishu, said Ahmed’s political profile could account for his presence in Kenya.
“He is the public face of the Islamic courts and is increasingly being seen as crucial to any national reconciliation effort in Somalia … this is why, diplomatic sources say, he is being held in a hotel and this is why he is under US protection,” Adow said.
An official with the US embassy in Nairobi denied reports that Washington had any involvement in Ahmed’s presence in Nairobi.
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Ethiopian troops came under fire from protesters on Monday as they carried out searches in the south of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital.
The searches were being conducted after an ambush on an Ethiopian convoy at the weekend, which resulted in exchanges of fire.