Posted on 04/18/2006 8:32:43 PM PDT by Flavius
bdulkadir Khalif Nairobi
A three-and-half year old girl, Aisha-Luul, last month became a victim of the latest fighting in Mogadishu. She sustained a serious injury after being shot in the arm by a stray bullet while standing outside of her family's house at SOS sub- district in the city.
The fighting erupted in mid February when a new coalition calling itself the "anti-terrorist" group was formed to counter the growing influence of islamist groups in the city. Hardened warlords in the capital have reportedly established a partnership with some wealthy businessmen to challenge heavily armed religious leaders who are running a network of islamic Courts.
Although name calling is nothing new in Somalia, especially among the bitter political rivals, the new coalition of the warlords call their islamist foes "terrorists", while the Sheikhs call the warlords "demons." Many people are shocked by the intensity of the violent confrontations, but the events have a clear background.
When Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was formed in Kenya, a number of MPs-cum-ministers returned to Mogadishu confident that they had a mandate to rule the country. They vowed to tame armed militia, remove roadblocks from streets and establish an administration for the city. Nine months lapsed between April and December 2005 and the warlords achieved none of their three goals.
Demobilisation of militias, removal of roadblocks and establishment of an administration for the city have not materialised. In fact, they reached a dead end when the militias they assembled at two camps at the outskirts of Mogadishu left without notice. The dismantled roadblocks were occupied by other groups and the attempt to form a city council attracted officials who were unwilling to obey their masters.
The shocking reality is that the warlords found themselves face to face with the leaders of the islamic courts, an equally armed group with an even more hardline political agenda. The most dramatic showdown occurred in October last year when islamists began to forcibly close down various entertainment centres, often clashing with their owners.
Although it was during the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan, what was happening was like a rehearsal for what was likely to occur in the immediate future. Those running the entertainment centres were mainly supporters of the warlords. Their leaders, however, could not intervene, fearing confrontations.
The islamic courts strategically occupied every roadblock that was removed by the warlords. Even members of the city council were more inclined to listen to the instructions of the religious leaders than the warlords who masterminded the council's formation. For the warlords, it amounted to one frustration after another, feeling that the 15 year soap opera of violence was being snatched from them. Relevant Links East Africa Arms and Military Affairs Somalia Civil War and Communal Conflict
When the main bodies of the TFG began moving to Baidoa in Southern Somalia following the announcement that the parliamentary sessions were going to be held there, the humiliated warlords opted not to leave the city at the mercy of the islamists. The best option for the warlords to teach the bearded men a lesson was to form a coalition and to accuse the islamic courts of being a terrorist hub. Furious islamists reacted by attacking the warlords, whom they called "demons," with guns and mortar shells.
The city soon degenerated into full scale violence in which hundreds of people died and many more were injured. While the coalition of warlords has admitted that they are part of the global war on terror with a mission to hunt down terrorists operating in Somalia, the Sheikhs have denied being part of al-Qaeda's global terror network.
The islamists are claiming victory in their confrontation with the warlords, who are denying this and claiming even bigger victory for being able to link the islamic courts with al-Qaeda. At the end of the day, however, as the islamists and warlords battle for supremacy, the losers are innocent victims such as Aisha-Luul, who is too young to understand what the war that caused her a bullet wound is all about.
Interesting article. I don't know that Islamists were trying to get a foothold in Somalia too.
I hope they kill as many of each other as possible though.
It is late....
WHo is fighting who?
Same here. The fewer there are of them, on both sides, the fewer of them the rest of the world has to worry about.
Sounds like this could have happened in numerous places in the U.S.
Somalia was the original foothold for the Islamists. Who do you think we were fighting back in '93? The routing of the Rangers and the humiliating withdrawl of US forces was the first big victory of al Qaeda and established them as the "Strong Horse" in the region.
The Islamists are (reletively) well organized and well funded. Their Saudi "friends" are only too happy to make sure they have a ready supply of guns and ammo.
I am aware of Blackhawk Down. Saw the movie. Read a condensed version of the book.
I always assumed that the warlords were not connected with Islamists. I thought they were just power-hungry groups flexing their muscle.
In any case, my point remains the same. I hope they kill as many of each other as possible.
Agreed. I hope they kill as much of each other as possible. Especially after watching the history chanel special on the events of black hawk down. Ungrateful, disgusting vermin who refuse to help themselves.
Things were "Mostly Harmless" to paraphrase the Hitchhiker's Guide until the Saudis started pouring money into the various Islamic nut-case militias. Suddenly, instead of having a rusted out WWII leftover bolt-action rifle, all the idiot kids on the street suddenly had shiny new AK47s, with ammo to spare.
For rock-bottom prices, the Saudis bought themselves chaos. Then they moved in with the Islamist regimes, to pick up the pieces.
It all seems obvious now, but at the time nobody was sure what was going on and why the Saudis were being such pricks about everything.
Bump.
How is it that their PR guys paint a prettier picture than ours do?
Hoh Boy. Are they at least different sects?
Who are we cheering for, again?
If the Muslims could be eliminated, there could be a chance to re- establish a democratic government. But everytime something positive looks to be happening, the Muslims do their thing.
They weren't all muslems before. If they are all muslim now, then there is nothing worth saving or worrying about. let them kill each other. There were Christian and other tribal sects years ago.
Thank You for taking the time to clarify that.
They probably are the root cause of the government corruption and collapse in the first place, now that we have hindsight. In 84, there was no sign of major trouble. Doesn't take long for Islam to come a wreck a place I guess. It was a good practice run for them.
'Aliens' circa 1986. Sometimes Hollywierd DOES get it right - and twenty years ahead of schedule. {;^)
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