Mogadishu.Sunatimes- A most revered cleric in Somalia Sheik Omar Faruk has on Saturday vehemently welcomed the recent decision by IGAD member nations to urgently send 2000 peacekeepers to Somalia.

During a telephone interview from the holy city of Mekkah in Saudi Arabia, the cleric said that Somali government was right to ask neighboring countries for military assistance to help it restore peace and stability into the country.

Although the renowned cleric welcomed the move, while the Alqaeda-linked militants in Somalia accused Somali president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed of demanding what they described "infidels" for help. Spokesman for Al shabab Sheik Ali Mahmoud Raghe on Friday said that Somali president handed the whole country over to IGAD.

"A Muslim government can invite every one, to help it stabilize its country, no mater whether they are infidels or not, but the importance is to look for solution" the well known cleric said.

He called on the Alqaeda-proxy AL shabab and Hezbal Islam extremists to lay down the army and negotiate with the legal government in Somalia which has the recognition and the support of international community.

The east African regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) earlier this week decided to engage more forcefully in search for a lasting peace and stability to Somalia which has been in chaos since 1991.

The prolonged civil strife and lawlessness in Somalia engulfed the lives of more than half a million people since the country descended into anarchy nearly 20 years ago. At least 22,000 of those were killed in the restive capital for the past three years while more than 1.5 million others fled from their homes.

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