Transitional Federal Government
At the time the Transitional Federal Government which was established in Mbagathi, Nairobi in 2004, was a fragile body which was divided and weak. The Ethiopian army invaded Somalia claiming that it was trying to help the Transitional Federal Government and overthrew the Islamic Court Union. Sharif met with the US Ambassador to Kenya for talks concerning cooperation with the Transitional Federal Government, after which he left for Yemen to meet with other former Islamic Courts Union members.