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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A hardline Somali rebel on a U.N. list of terror suspects says his forces will fight any foreign troops who try to prop up the government.
Somalia’s government is coming under near-daily attack by insurgents who want to topple the Western-backed administration. Lawmakers have called on foreign countries to send reinforcements.
Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys leads one of the most powerful insurgent groups. He said Wednesday that his forces will fight any foreigners and that the “so-called government” barely controls any territory.
A surge in violence in recent weeks has killed about 225 people.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991.
