Mr. Abdiqassim Salat Hassan, who was Somali president 2000-2004, told reporters that the armed opposition who oppose Sheikh Sharif's government are "traitors."
"The armed opposition who took up weapons and claim to fight the government are traitors and they are not part of Islam," Mr. Abdiqassim said.
He accused the armed opposition of "killing civilians" while claiming to fight for an Islamic state.
Ex-President Abdiqassim advised the new government in Somalia to distance itself from African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM), saying: "In history, there are no foreign troops who helped Somalia except to bring more trouble, starting during the colonial times.�
He called on the government to train Somali security forces to take over responsibility at airports, ports and other government facilities.
Mr. Abdiqassim, who now lives in Egypt, noted that the Sudanese government has began mediating between President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamist opposition chief who has lived in Eritrea since 2006.
Sheikh Aweys recently arrived in the Sudan and is reportedly planning to travel to Mogadishu, which he left when Ethiopian troops intervened in south-central Somalia in Dec. 2006.