Mogadishu, Somalia (AHN) – Hizbul Islam, one of two insurgent groups in southern Somalia, will open negotiations with the transitional federal government of Somalia but with one condition, an official of the group said Saturday.

Sheikh Hassan Mahdi, a high-ranking official with Hizbul Islam, told a Mogadishu radio station the group is ready to talk with the Somali government only if African Union peacekeepers, known as AMISOM, leave the country.

“We need to go to the negotiations table, we need reconciliation,” Mahdi told Simba radio. He vowed Hizbul Islam would continue fighting until AMISOM leaves Somalia.

Hizbul Islam is the most powerful group in southern Somalia after the Al Qaeda-inspired group Al Shabaab.

Critics say this condition by Hizbul Islam appears impossible to happen as the existence of the Somali government depends on African Union peacekeepers.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is the leader of Hizbul Islam. The United States has accused him of having links with Al Qaeda.

In April, the U.S. froze the assets of Aweys and other people accused of being terrorists.

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