Posted on 01/04/2007 9:54:05 AM PST by meg88
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia's interior minister said Thursday that thousands of Islamic fighters still pose a threat in the capital, while a Somali government spokesman said government troops, backed by Ethiopian soldiers, are fighting about 600 Islamic militiamen in the south.
Government forces have surrounded the Islamic militiamen "from every direction" in the southwestern district of Badade, near the Kenyan border, Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told The Associated Press. "The fighting is going on," Dinari said. "We hope they will either surrender or be killed by our troops."
In the past 10 days, Ethiopian-backed government forces have driven out the Islamic movement that had controlled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia for more than six months. The Islamic movement has vowed to keep fighting, raising the specter of an Iraq-style guerrilla war.
Kenya officially closed its border with its neighbor, fearing an exodus of militants and refugees. Meanwhile, a top U.S. diplomat in Ethiopia said that she hopes African peacekeepers will be in Somalia by the end of the month.
In the past 10 days, Ethiopian-backed government forces have driven out the Islamic movement that had controlled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia for more than six months. The Islamic movement has vowed to keep fighting, raising the specter of an Iraq-style guerrilla war.
"There are 3,500 Islamists hiding in Mogadishu and the surrounding areas and they are likely to destabilize the security of the city," Interior Minister Hussein Aideed said at a news conference.
Aideed did not explain the source of his information or what prompted his comments. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi later Thursday tried to play down the threat and disputed Aideed's number of Islamists hiding in the capital, although he did not offer his own estimate.
Gedi said his government would begin efforts to disarm Somalis by seizing large arms caches located around Mogadishu. A house-by-house search will follow, the prime minister told journalists, without saying when that will happen.
Thursday was the deadline for people in Mogadishu to surrender their arms. Gedi said the disarmament program was progressing but offered no details. By Wednesday, only a handful of people had heeded Gedi's demand and turned in any weapons in the capital.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju said, meanwhile, that his country had officially closed its border with Somalia. The U.N.'s humanitarian agency has said there are thousands of Somali refugees reported to be near the border, unable to cross into Kenya.
Tuju said Wednesday that Somali government troops were not threatening civilians so he didn't believe Somalis should be trying to cross the border into Kenya. However, he stopped short of saying the border was closed, saying Kenya would strictly enforce its tight screening process of refugees to ensure no foreign fighters slipped into the country.
On Thursday, he said the border was closed, but did not say when the decision was made or how long it would remain that way.
A Kenyan security helicopter and air force plane were fired at by unidentified gunmen on either side of the border on Wednesday. Tuju said he had no information on the incidents.
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had promised that he could supply between 1,000-2,000 troops to protect Somalia's transitional government and train its troops. She said the pledge was made by Museveni in a phone call to President Bush.
Ugandan officials say they need help paying for the operation and a clear exit strategy.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has pressed the international community to send in peacekeepers quickly, saying his forces cannot play that role and cannot afford to stay long.
"The people of Somalia need to come together," Frazer said earlier. "The Council of Islamic Courts are no longer, though there may be remnants or individuals, and we continue to push for dialogue."
Aideed said that there are about 12,000-15,000 Ethiopian troops in Somalia, and when peacekeepers arrive in the country the Ethiopians will leave. Ethiopia has put the number much lower, at around 4,000, and said it would pull out within weeks.
With the Islamic movement's fighters on the run, concern has grown about extremists believed to be among them. Three al-Qaida suspects wanted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa are believed to be leaders of the Islamic movement. The movement denies having any links to al-Qaida.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday that U.S. Navy vessels deployed off the Somali coast were looking for al-Qaida and allied militants trying to escape by sea.
Somalia's last effective central government fell in 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other. The government was formed two years ago with the help of the United Nations, but has been weakened by internal rifts.
___
Associated Press Writer Chris Tomlinson in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contributed to this report
"The fighting is going on," Dinari said. "We hope they will either surrender or be killed by our troops."
I've got my fingers crossed for the latter!
Pay attention America. This is what happens if you ignore the UN and the anti war crowd.
Meg,
You're on a roll. I know I speak for us all when I say we appreciate your efforts.
thx...
For the life of me, I don't know why we haven't joined in that fight. I know SEALs have a presence there, but the surrounded Islamofascists should be eradicated by the USMC. In and out in two days.
They should do just what the militants to- drive them into one area- then just open up fire on everyone in a big bloody massacre- send a stout message to the rest of the terrorist scum that they are not wanted in that country- the Ethipeans aren't bound by political correctness and should take advantager of that and fight this war the way a war should be fought- Kofi though I'm sure will rub the skin off his hands in his handwringing marathon but oh well. http://sacredscoop.com
I hope the terrorist try to cross Kenya's border so they could be pancaked by Ethiopian, Somalian, and Kenya forces.
I don't believe any of this stuff. Sorry. These are terrorist ragamuffins blended in with the skinnies. How can you do serious damage to a ghost army? It's great that they are run off for the time being, but does anyone seriously think there is a substantial degradation of the number of supporters and fighters because of Ethiopia's show of force? This is why our VP said the war will take 30,40 or 50 years before you can declare victory. Victory being the re-bottling of the islamic pathogen. The antigen to Islamic fanaticism is a periodic show of force? I doubt it. The antigen is destruction of the homeland of the most militant. Not sure if you have to punish more than just Iran to get the tide turned. Sure there will be Shia riots in sunni controlled regions and all that. Worth it to take down their nuclear program. Nukes make Tyrants as powerful as Defenders of Freedom.
France is finding out how it gets started.
Surround them. Then use napalm on the G-damn bastards.
I just love Al-Reuters'story:
Somali militia attack revives fears of chaos 12:53pm ET
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali gunmen attacked an oil tanker truck near Mogadishu on Thursday, wounding three people and raising fears of a return to the clan violence that had largely stopped during six months of Islamist rule.
We must remember that life is so nice and peaceful under Islamist rule. /s
"France is finding out how it gets started"
"October 19, 2006: French special operations troops appear to be overcommitted, so 200 French commandos are being pulled from Afghanistan, where they have been since 2003, looking for terrorist leaders. France has already got a lot of operators operating across Africa. Apparently France is building up their special operations capability in Djibouti, possibly in anticipation of problems in Eritrea and Somalia, both of which are involved in disputes with Ethiopia. The Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad is pretty lucrative for Djibouti and France, and fighting between Ethiopia and either of its neighbors could create problems there. American Special Forces in Djibouti have a base near the main French one.
LOL....is there any other way to be surrounded ? Nice double-talk.....
The MSN is full of garbage. They truly are terrorist supporters. I wouldn't doubt they "contribute" financially to the scum.
Thank you for the info. My base library has that book, think I'll check it out...
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