A representative of Somalia's provisional government denied on Sunday reports that Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network or other Islamic militant groups operate on its soil. “There are no camps or bases for Al-Qaeda in Somalia, and the majority of the Somali people knew of Al-Qaeda only after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington,” said Somali presidential envoy Yousuf Hassan Ibrahim, currently visiting Sudan. Ibrahim said that bin Laden would be unable to hide in Somalia, arguing that it was open territory lacking hiding places like the caves of Afghanistan. A British newspaper reported on Sunday that US forces had made surveillance flights over Somalia looking for Al-Qaeda forces to target in the next stage of the global war on terror.
A top US official said on Friday that Somalia could be a potential refuge for Al-Qaeda or other groups, but the US was still gathering information.
Somalia can be, or could be a place where terror cells could find some kind of comfortable environment, so it's worrisome, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs Walter Kansteiner told reporters in Nairobi.
Bureau Report