Top Islamic leader surrenders in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya – A top leader of Somalia’s ousted Islamic movement, apparently afraid for his life now that the once-powerful militia has been chased into hiding, has surrendered and is in custody in neighboring Kenya, officials said Monday.

Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, considered a moderate member of the Council of Islamic Courts, went to a Kenyan police station along the Somali border Sunday and was flown to Nairobi, according to a police report seen by The Associated Press. A U.S. diplomat said last week that Ahmed could play a role in reconciling Somali factions.

If Ahmed agrees to hold talks with Somalia’s government, it could be a major step toward preventing the widespread insurgency that many Islamic leaders have threatened in Somalia. Ahmed is not believed to be wanted by the authorities, like other members of the Islamic group.

The United States said it was not involved in protecting Ahmed, whose whereabouts in Nairobi were not known. In Somalia, the remnants of the Islamic courts are being hunted by Ethiopian troops and Somali government forces.

“The U.S. government is not holding or interrogating Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and was not involved in his capture or surrender,” a U.S. Embassy official said, reading from a statement.

U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger has said Ahmed is a moderate Islamic leader who the United States believes should be part of a national reconciliation process in Somalia. Ahmed was the chairman of the Executive Council of Islamic Courts.

Somali troops, with crucial aid from neighboring Ethiopia, drove the Council of Islamic Courts out of the capital and much of southern Somalia last month. But violence has been breaking out because of traditional clan rivalries and resentment among Somalis over the presence of Ethiopia.

Somalia, a Muslim country, and Ethiopia, with its large Christian population, fought a brutal war in 1977.

On Monday, witnesses said Ethiopian troops killed three civilians in the capital’s Hurwa district, considered a hotbed of sympathizers for the Islamic movement.