Sharif Ahmed

Infobox Military Person
name=
lived= birth date and age|1964|07|25
placeofbirth= - Chabila, Somaliacite web |date=2006-05-17| url = http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=4971| title = Interview with Head of Somalia's Islamic courts organization Sheikh Sharif Ahmad| format = HTML | publisher = sundaytelegraph | accessdate = 2007-08-03 | last= Khaled Mahmoud]
placeofdeath=


caption= Chairman of the ICU, Sharif Ahmed.
nickname= Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
allegiance=
serviceyears= 2003–present
rank= Commander-in-chief
commands=
unit=
battles= Rise of the ICU (2006)
Ethiopian intervention (2006–present)
2007 timeline of the War in Somalia
awards=
laterwork=

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed ( _so. "Sheekh Shariif Sheekh Axmed"; _ar. Somalia's] capital of Mogadishu and much of south and central Somalia until the war in Somalia. Ahmed was born in Shabeellaha Dhexe province, Somalia, and studied at Libyan and Sudanese universities. He is from the Abgaal branch of the Hawiye clan. He has also worked as a secondary school teacher of geography, Arabic, and religious studies. He speaks Arabic, Somali, and English.

Islamic Courts Union

He first became involved in the ICU when he was elected to head a small local court in Jowhar. A few years later, a local gang in Mogadishu kidnapped a young student and demanded a ransom from his family in return for releasing their son. This incident was one of countless other kidnappings and killings perpetrated by armed groups in the Somali capital who exploited the disintegration of the central government. This event marked a turning point in the life of Sheikh Sharif Ahmad and his further involvement in the ICU.cite news
title=Mogadishu's modest Islamic leader
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5072268.stm
date=2006-06-12
accessdate=2007-01-17
publisher=BBC]

In 2004, Sheikh Sharif became one the leading figures in the Islamic courts in the capital. His closest friends and allies include Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, one of the founders of Islamic courts in Somalia and Aden Hashi Farah "Eyrow" whom Washington blames for having connection with Al-Qaeda network and fought in Afghanistan in 2001. cite web |date=Wed June 14 2006] | url = http://somalinet.com/news/world/English/2882| title = The profile of Islamic courts leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed| format = HTML | publisher = somalinet| accessdate = 2007-08-03 | last=Mohamed Abdi Farah - Somalia correspondent ]

On September 9 2006, Sharif and several colleagues were in Sirte, Libya for an AU ceremony marking the seventh anniversary of a summit of African leaders. In an interview with Reuters and the BBC, he suggested his delegation would seek the help of Libya and other African nations to bring about a rapprochement between the Islamists and the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG). He said Ethiopia had been hostile to Somalia for more than 500 years and reiterated a longstanding Islamist accusation that Ethiopian forces were intervening in Somalia. Ethiopia denied any of its troops were fighting in Somalia. However, arrangements for an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-led peacekeeping force did not materialize. [http://danwaa.com/view.php?articleid=62 Somali Islamists to ask AU to end peace force plan] , Reuters, September 9 2006]

ICU falls

On December 28, 2006, after the defeat of the ICU's army, he committed himself to fighting the Ethopian forces in Somalia. After the ICU's defeat in the Battle of Jilib and their abandonment of Kismayo, he fled towards the Kenyan border.

He was detained, with three other Somalis, by Kenyan police on January 21, 2007 near the Hulugo border. He met the US Ambassador to Kenya for talks regarding cooperation with the TFG. He is currently under the protection of Kenyan authorities and staying at a hotel in Nairobi.
url=http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143963931
title=Top Islamist arrested on Kenya-Somalia border
publisher=The East African Standard
date=2007-01-21
accessdate=2007-02-03] cite news
url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070122/ts_afp/somaliaunrest_070122160829
title=Top Somali Islamist surrenders in Kenya
date=2007-01-22
publisher=AFP
accessdate=2007-02-03 ]

Capture of American soldiers

On February 1, 2007, the captured ICU leader Sharif Ahmed was released from Kenyan police authorities.cite news
title=Somali Islamist leader out of Kenyan custody
url=http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2007/feb/somali_islamist_leader_out_of_kenyan_custody.aspx
date=2007-02-01
accessdate=2007-02-01
publisher=Reuters] He also was reported to have met with Michael Ranneberger, U.S. Envoy to Kenya and Somalia, allegedly to arrange for the release of the captured U.S. troops.cite news
title=US diplomat bids the release of 11 US soldiers seized in Somalia
url=http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne2220.htm
date=2007-02-01
publisher=Shabelle Media Network
accessdate=] By February 8, Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed had gone to Yemen where other ICU members are thought to have also gone. [cite news |title= Somali Islamist travels to Yemen |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6342527.stm |date=2007-02-08 |accessdate= 2007-02-08 |publisher=BBC] On that day, reports in the Yememi Arabic newspaper Al-nedaa stated Sharif Ahmed's release was the first conditional step to arrange the release of varying reports of 11 or, now, 15 United States Marines allegedly captured during fighting in southern Somalia at the Battle of Ras Kamboni. Four Marines were also alleged to have been wounded in the fighting.cite news
title=Somalia: The story of US captives in Somalia gains weight
url=http://somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/7367
date=2007-02-08
accessdate=2007-02-09 ] cite news
title=The Release of 15 US soldiers in southern Somalia underway--Yemen paper
url=http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne2273.htm
date=2007-02-08
publisher=Shabelle Media Network
accessdate=2007-02-09 ] However, while these stories of captured American soldiers were prevalent in Somali media, they received little or no attention in the Western media. The capture of U.S. troops had been reported earlier on January 21 by the ICU's [http://www.qaadisiya.com Qaadisiya.com] site, but denied as "utterly bogus" by Michael Ranneberger.cite news
title=U.S. has ground troops in southern Somalia: Journalist
url=http://www.garoweonline.com/stories/publish/article_7183.shtml
date=2007-01-21
publisher=Garowe Online
accessdate=2007-02-29 ]

Family

Before fleeing Sheikh Sharif lived with his wife and two children, Ahmad, aged 9 and Abdullah, who is a toddler, in a modest house in Mogadishu .

Acceptance of the International Community

At the beginning of his leadership at the Union of Islamic Courts, Sharif Ahmed was widely opposed by countries and their leadership, mainly because of the organization's stance on some developed nations.Since making interviews with Al Jazeera's English Service and other agencies, the Commander-in-Chief has made his words clear and that his aims and that of his organisation respectively, has proven that the UIC is not linked to World disorderment and instability, only to some. Some Somali sources have reported that the Swedish government has verbally supported Somalis who support people back home as being people who fight for their land.

References

External links

* [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,519776,00.html Interview in Der Spiegel]