In New Al Sahab Video, Al Libi Urges Establishment of Islamic State in Somalia

Senior al Qaeda figure Abu Yahya al Libi addressed the current situation in Somalia and the recent peace negotiations between the rival parties there in a new video produced by al Qaeda's media win Al Sahab and posted on militant Islamist Internet forums Sunday night.

In the 19-minute tape, titled "No Peace Without Islam," al Libi urges the militant Somali Mujahedin Youth Movement to keep fighting against the Ethiopian forces, as well as against Somali transitional government and all parties involved in talks with them.

Al Libi also called on the militants in Somalia to fight any forces brought in to replace the Ethiopian forces, such as AU peacekeeping forces, and says the militants should not recognize the authority or the legitimacy of such organizations. Al Libi also eulogized militant commander Adam Ayro, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike on his house in the central Somali town of Dusamareeb on May 1st.

Al Libi finished his statement by inciting the militants to establish an Islamic State in Somalia. "Do not accept anything less than an independent Islamic State that does not recognize International legitimacy, nor would it acknowledge man-made legislations," he said.

Al Qaeda has been paying increasing attention to the conflict in Somalia. Al Qaeda leaders, including the terror group's second-in-command Ayman al Zawahri, have made repeated references to the conflict, portraying it as another battle between the West and Islam, and voiced support for the Mujaheddin Youth Movement.