Wow! I wonder if the Somalia's in Lewiston, Maine will protect Maine from any terrorist attacks? Is having over 1,200 of them in Maine a GOOD THING?! Just a thought.....
Posted on 02/21/2006 4:02:46 AM PST by Cornpone
A group of powerful warlords controlling the Somali capital has formed a new political party whose main goal is to oppose extremism associated with hard-line Islamic courts in the lawless Horn of Africa nation, officials with ties to the party said on Tuesday.
The Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), launched on Saturday in southern Mogadishu, aims to play a key role in fighting terrorism in the country that has lacked a functional government for the past 15 years.
Witnesses said this week's fighting in southern Mogadishu, which left at least 18 people dead and displaced hundreds of others, pitted ARPCT-backed gunmen against Islamic courts militia.
Critics have accused the Islamic courts, which have set up a form of quasi-judicial system in Mogadishu, of having links to the al-Qaeda network.
Members of the ARPCT, headquartered in the capital's Daynile district, include warlords Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, Musa Sudi Yalahow, Omar Mohamoud Finish and Botan Issa and Bashir Raghe Shirar, the officials said.
Western intelligence groups have long warned that the world's failure to support efforts to stabilise lawless Somalia risked turning the country into a breeding ground for Islamic extremism.
Last year, the International Crisis Group (ICG) policy group repeated the warning but said that although some militant Islamic groups, including those with alleged ties to al-Qaeda, were using Somalia as a base, there was little sign they had more than cursory backing from locals.
The rise in Islamic extremism has been held in check by Somalis' general dislike and distrust of radical Muslim clerics and their courts, and the restrictions imposed by fundamentalist militias, the group said.
The formation of the party comes as rival factions in the splintered Somalia transitional government prepare to hold their first parliamentary session in the regional town of Baidoa, about 250km west of Mogadishu, on February 26.
The factions are headed by arch-foes President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and parliamentary Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, who have disagreed on where to locate the seat of the government since relocating from Kenya in June last year.
Sounds like the Somalians are starting to get it.
I"m guessing that the warlords are simply protecting their turf. They are thugs with power. If they allow the radical muslims to gain power it will mean a decrease in their own power. And in a lawless land, power means wealth and life.
Wow! I wonder if the Somalia's in Lewiston, Maine will protect Maine from any terrorist attacks? Is having over 1,200 of them in Maine a GOOD THING?! Just a thought.....
You nailed it. They are not getting it, the only thing they are getting, is more control. The muslim extremists are a threat to their power, period.
I have seen this upfront and personal, these warlords are out for one thing... POWER. Even at the expense of their people.
Semper Fidelis
The Somali people are, as a whole, good people. It is the greedy, powermongering warlords that are the problem. Chances are you don't have warlords living in Maine, they would actually have to work for something instead of stealing and bullying.
Semper Fidelis
I sure HOPE we don't have warlords. But one never knows.
And we never hear anything bad actually. But the bad sticks in my mind, ie: Black Hawk Down.
I still get the shivers. :(
I loved my "adopted" Somalie family. They're fantastic people. The sad stories they had to tell of the war there in '94. I was helping with local refugees from Sudan, Bosnia and Somalia when they "adopted" me after they came here to Texas in '95. Unfortunately, we moved away a few years ago and lost contact. :(
Thank you for your service, btw! My hubby was a Viet Nam Vet. :)
Ping
Well, see? We never hear much good like this. Thanks for sharing this with me!
But their concept could make the Great International Political Party to ever exist!
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