Posted on 06/05/2006 11:45:23 PM PDT by MadIvan
ISLAMIC militias claimed to have control of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, yesterday, after winning a bloody three-month battle with the warlords who have dominated the city for 15 years.
Many of the warlords, widely believed to be covertly backed by Washington, were fleeing to other parts of Somalia or neighbouring Kenya.
"We won the fight against the enemy of Islam; Mogadishu is under control of its people," Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the chairman of the Islamic Courts Union, said in a radio broadcast. The Islamic forces support Sharia law in Mogadishu, and they have been compared with the Taleban in Afghanistan.
Local resident Mohamed Asser said: "The era of warlords in Somalia is over. This morning, Mogadishu is under only one hand, the Islamic courts."
If confirmed, it will be the first time control of the whole city had been seized from Somalia's powerful warlords since they ousted the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, ushering in years of extreme violence and anarchy.
Since February, about 350 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in street battles between the Islamic militia and a self-styled anti-terrorism coalition of warlords.
Omar Jamal, the director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Centre in the US city of St Paul, Minnesota, said the Islamic militia's victory in Mogadishu was a major turning point in the country's history.
"It is exactly the same thing that happened with the rise to power of the Taleban," he said, adding that the extremists were "using the people's weariness of violence, rape and civil war" to gain support for a government based on Islamic law.
Many analysts have seen the violence as a proxy war between the US and Islamic militants. Many Somalis have moved to the Islamic side because of Washington's perceived support for the warlords, residents say. The Sharia courts have also gained popularity by restoring a semblance of order to parts of the capital.
After attending a public meeting yesterday, Mogadishu resident Ali Abdikadir said: "The Islamic courts announced they are in control of Mogadishu. They said they would work with residents to improve security in the capital. This is good news for us because the warlords were always engaged in battles. We are looking forward to a life without fighting."
Abdinasir Ahmed, an economist, said: "The victory of Islamic courts is a major step toward a lasting peaceful settlement in Mogadishu. We are tired of the deception and rhetoric of the warlords."
But Abdulqaadir Bashir, a computer engineer, disagreed. "The Islamic clerics want to be like the Taleban regime in Afghanistan," he said. "People have no hope."
After the latest battle on Sunday, in which 18 died, the Islamic militia took the strategic town of Balad, 20 miles from Mogadishu. The town controls the supply route from the capital to the warlords' stronghold of Jowhar further north.
The Islamic fighters followed up yesterday by taking Dayniile, the last warlord-held area in the capital. Residents said it was taken without a fight.
Ali Nur, a militiaman with the warlords' coalition, said its members were now fleeing. "We have no immediate plans. Most of our leaders have fled Mogadishu to Jowhar," he said.
Abdirahman Dinari, spokesman for Somalia's interim government, said he hoped for talks soon with the Islamic side. "I hope the Islamic courts will realise the importance of the government and talk to us. We are ready to talk to them in order to prevent further suffering of the innocent Somali people," he said.
The government, based in the southern city of Baidoa, has been too weak to stop the fighting or to enter the capital.
Fearing more fighting, the UN pulled staff out of Jowhar, which could be the next target for the Islamic militias. "There are fears of attacks and defence lines have been tightened," a UN source said.
The US has not commented on reports it has covertly funnelled large sums of money to the warlords.
Many of the warlords, widely believed to be covertly backed by Washington, were fleeing to other parts of Somalia or neighbouring Kenya.
And so the war will go on.
Why would anyone want to colonise such a place? What good is/was there?
Look at a map.
Looked and did not see anything good.
Right. Except for the fact it sits astride major trade routes.
Nice summary...
"I suggest we blow up Somalia. It's no use to anyone anyway."
Bump dat!
What an unfortunate developement.
Bruce Willis said it best..."God left Africa a long time ago."
The beaches are spectacular.
It would be a tourist dream, but for the occupants.
Kind of like France, in that way.
I heard one notable African, when asked what could solve Africa's problems, say "Let the British run it again."
I suppose it could be a tourist dream if we hate the tourists in question.
Regards, Ivan
No, I think that was the one flaw (other than a guy's shiny dog tags and wrist watch, etc) in the movie BHD.
The sharks are pretty seasonal, and countermeasures are reasonably easy. (Think Australia and its Gwhite shark netting. Somalia waters are much shallower and you're not dealing with GWs.)
Indeed, it used to be tourist area.
I know Britain ran a part of it, but if we must take a bit of Africa back, I'd prefer Kenya.
Regards, Ivan
They have been around a pretty good while already. Who do you think was supplying all those black slaves for the U.S. and the other foreign markets.
When the African tribes would raid one another they would sell the captives to Muslim slave marketers.
My understanding slaving is still a favorite thriving Muslim enterprise even today.
The rest of the world doesn't give a rats patoot. Besides, they are waaay too busy criticizing America and the President.
Yeah! :)
Now that they're all concentrated in Mogadishu... it's time for 3 or 4 MOAB's to set their collective hair on fire.
You are correct. Islam was at the root of the slave trade.
Of course, that is not PC, so one does not mention it.
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