31 August 2006
Thousands of angry Muslims across east Africa on Friday burnt Israeli and US flags as they took to the streets to denounce Israel's offensive against Lebanon, saying the attacks amounted to genocide aimed at eliminating Arabs. "Israel/US are guilty of war crimes", "Where is the UN/Arab League when innocent women and children are being brutally killed?", "Islam is peace", "Islam is coming - Israel search for another planet", "Stop killing innocent Muslims in the Middle East, that is terrorism", read some of the placards waved according to the AFP news agency. About 3,000 people marched through the lawless Somali capital Mogadishu, venting fury at Israel's operations to crush the radical Hezbollah militia with what they said was "genocide" and "terrorism" targeted at Muslims. "The Israelis are killing the people of Palestine and Lebanon in an attempt to eliminate them and that is impossible," said Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a top official of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia, which rules much of southern Somalia including the capital. "We are urging Israel to stop the massacre against the people of Lebanon. Our heart is with you and we support the struggle of the people of Lebanon and Palestine to reclaim their lands," added Ahmed, who is regarded as a moderate cleric. Several others hailed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shiite Hezbollah militia, for resisting Israeli firepower.
In the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, at least 2,000 men, women and children gathered in the city's Madaraka grounds and poured scorn on the Jewish nation, and its western backers, notably United States after Friday evening prayers. "We want a total eradication of Israel from the world map. Israel is the main impediment to peace and they should therefore be eradicated just like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said," said Sheikh Hassan Omar, the head of Mombasa's Liwatoni Mosque. Britain and the United States "are fighting us day and night in all corners of the world to control the world but they will not win. Islam will win over Western idealism," said Sheikh Mohammed Idriss of the city's Sakina Mosque. In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, hundreds rallied against the war and urged the United Nations to shake free from Israeli and US shackles. "If the UN will not save us, who will?" a protestor in Nairobi was quoted by AFP as saying.
