Somali premier vows to take Mogadishu from Islamists

Middle East Times ^ | November 27, 2006 | Ali Musa Abdi

[SunkenCiv]

Somalia's Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi vowed Monday that his government, backed by Ethiopia, would take Mogadishu from powerful Islamists now controlling the city, fueling fears of all-out war... Gedi gave no timeframe for the push on Mogadishu, which the Islamists seized from warlords in June after months of fierce fighting, but military build-ups around Baidoa have mounted in recent weeks since the failure of peace talks... Many diplomats and regional security experts fear all-out war in Somalia could engulf the Horn of Africa in conflict, drawing in Ethiopia, which backs the government, and its arch-foe Eritrea, accused of supporting the Islamists. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said last week that he had completed preparations for war with the Islamists and stressed at the weekend that his country would not wait for approval from anyone to attack. Mainly Christian Ethiopia, with a large and potentially restive Muslim minority, is wary of the rise on its border of the Islamists who have declared holy war on Ethiopian troops in Somalia protecting the government... Asked to comment on the Ethiopian presence in and around Baidoa, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu, Gedi replied simply: "We were not the first ones to invite people in." The comment was a reference to allegations from UN arms experts and others that the Islamists are receiving weapons and military support from seven, mainly Arab, countries as well as Lebanon's radical Hezbollah movement. Meanwhile, three nations - Ethiopia, Uganda, and Yemen - are reportedly backing the Somali government, according to a UN-commissioned report.

[Charles Martel]

Warlords vs. Islamists *bump* to the top.