Ayr (clan) - Relations With The Islamic Courts Union

Relations With The Islamic Courts Union

Members of the Cayr have been leaders or supporters of the Islamic Courts Union which rose to power over much of Somalia in 2006, and were defeated in December 2006 by the forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Ethiopia.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys helped establish the Islamic Courts Union and is one of its most influential and fundamentalist leaders, strenuously advocating for an Islamic government to end the chaos in Somalia. However, the U.S. government maintains he has ties to terrorist activities.

Ayr clan elders met June 15, 2006 with the former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, William Bellamy, in Nairobi, Kenya. Ayr clan elders made an agreement with the US ambassador to capture Al-Qaeda terrorists in their ranks if the U.S. could "tell us exactly where these men are in Somalia.".

Since the defeat of the Islamic Courts in December 2006 and January 2007, the government remains wary of the ties and sympathies of the Ayr to the Islamic Courts. On January 15, 2007, the TFG closed the radio stations for Shabelle Radio, Horn Afrik, Holy Koran Radio (Idaa'ada Qur'aanka Kariimka - IQK), and the Al Jazeera television station in Mogadishu, without issuing a reason why. Later, it was said the radio stations had ties to the Ayr clan, which supported the Islamic Courts, and, according to government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari, had broadcast reports about government soldiers: "They said our soldiers were looting the markets and harassing people, which was totally untrue... They are using the media to undermine the government. They have been doing this for months."