At least 15 people were killed and 40 were wounded in fighting in the capital, Mogadishu, between a group of Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian forces, which began pulling out of bases there on Tuesday. The fighting began when a hard-line Islamist group, El Shabab, attacked an Ethiopian convoy that was withdrawing from Mogadishu Stadium, residents said. El Shabab, which the United States has listed as a terrorist organization, seeks to turn Somalia into an Islamic state. In a news conference in Mogadishu, Sheik Muktar Robow Abu Monsur, El Shabab spokesman, warned Somalis not to give any support to the Ethiopians, vowing that the group would continue fighting until all foreign troops withdrew from the country.
Many Western diplomats and other Somalia analysts have warned that once all the Ethiopians are gone, the various Islamist factions will unleash their considerable firepower on one another in a scramble to take over the country. Some of that fighting has already kicked off, with dozens of people killed in the past week in combat between moderate and radical Islamist factions.
American officials, who had supported the Ethiopian intervention, have been pushing to replace the African Union troops with a larger, better-trained United Nations peacekeeping force. So far, though, there is broad reluctance among members of the United Nations to take the lead role in such an operation.
http://nytimes.com
MY COMMENT:
The Ethiopian troops stormed into Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement that briefly controlled much of the country and to help shore up Somalia’s weak transitional government.
It did not go as intended. The Ethiopian intervention set off a bitter guerrilla war, killing thousands of civilians and driving nearly one million people out of Mogadishu. [nytimes.com]
“I am happy they finally left our neighborhood,” said Fadumo Mohammed Jimale, an 18-year-old whose family had been displaced by intense urban street fighting. “They killed my father.”
Hundreds of cheering Somalis lined the streets to watch the dozens of Ethiopian military trucks rumbling out of Mogadishu, Somalia’s bullet-pocked capital.
Fadumo M. J and many other Somalians will be quick to express joy on the exit of the Ethiopians. I clearly see Fadumo’s view point and why he wants them to leave. Wait, before you say anything, here is another excerpt:
On Tuesday, gunmen from one Islamist faction rushed into an old pasta factory in central Mogadishu that the Ethiopians had been using as a base. The Islamists were quick to take credit for the Ethiopian withdrawal.
“We drove the Ethiopians out by means of muscle and bullet,” announced Sheik Yusuf Mohammed Siyad, an Islamist leader. “Today, we got the victory we were expecting. We will restore order in this neighborhood.”
“We are ready to unite with our brothers now, since the enemy is leaving,” he added.
Well, I can’t say I’m surprised at this action; this is exactly what I anticipated. The insurgents will quickly occupy the vacuum and unleash more terror on the Somalians. They have already begun attacking the withdrawing troops; this should give you an insight of what lies ahead. The situations in the country will definitely get worse; these groups will make the civilians pay for their losses.
The Islamist movement wants to turn Somalia into an Islamic country by brute force. This is their main aim, the reason for all the fighting. Why should people be forced to belong to a particular sect or religion or group in the 21st century? The Islamist insurgent in Somalia if not checked and stopped will become like the Taliban group in Afghanistan.
In their regime, the Taliban banned music and dancing, shut down movie theaters and television stations, destroyed public works of art that depicted living beings, and forbade the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Men were ordered to grow full, untrimmed beards (in accordance with orthodox Islam) and were rounded up and beaten with sticks in an effort to force prayer in the mosques. The Taliban strongly enforced the ancient custom of purdah, the veiling and seclusion of women from men. Women were ordered to cover themselves from head to toe in burkas (long, tentlike veils). Girls’ schools were closed, and women were forbidden to work outside their homes. As a result, hospitals lost almost all their staffs and children in orphanages were abandoned. In a country where hundreds of thousands of men had been killed in warfare, widows found themselves unable to work to provide basic necessities for their families. (Microsoft Encarta)
Same thing will happen in Somalia – my prediction – if these insurgents are not stopped now.
Few days ago Somalia was confirmed as a piracy capital. This restoration and reformation must start from somewhere.
Many Western diplomats and other Somalia analysts have warned that once all the Ethiopians are gone, the various Islamist factions will unleash their considerable firepower on one another in a scramble to take over the country. Some of that fighting has already kicked off, with dozens of people killed in the past week in combat between moderate and radical Islamist factions.
American officials, who had supported the Ethiopian intervention, have been pushing to replace the African Union troops with a larger, better-trained United Nations peacekeeping force. So far, though, there is broad reluctance among members of the United Nations to take the lead role in such an operation.
http://nytimes.com
MY COMMENT:
The Ethiopian troops stormed into Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement that briefly controlled much of the country and to help shore up Somalia’s weak transitional government.
It did not go as intended. The Ethiopian intervention set off a bitter guerrilla war, killing thousands of civilians and driving nearly one million people out of Mogadishu. [nytimes.com]
“I am happy they finally left our neighborhood,” said Fadumo Mohammed Jimale, an 18-year-old whose family had been displaced by intense urban street fighting. “They killed my father.”
Hundreds of cheering Somalis lined the streets to watch the dozens of Ethiopian military trucks rumbling out of Mogadishu, Somalia’s bullet-pocked capital.
Fadumo M. J and many other Somalians will be quick to express joy on the exit of the Ethiopians. I clearly see Fadumo’s view point and why he wants them to leave. Wait, before you say anything, here is another excerpt:
On Tuesday, gunmen from one Islamist faction rushed into an old pasta factory in central Mogadishu that the Ethiopians had been using as a base. The Islamists were quick to take credit for the Ethiopian withdrawal.
“We drove the Ethiopians out by means of muscle and bullet,” announced Sheik Yusuf Mohammed Siyad, an Islamist leader. “Today, we got the victory we were expecting. We will restore order in this neighborhood.”
“We are ready to unite with our brothers now, since the enemy is leaving,” he added.
Well, I can’t say I’m surprised at this action; this is exactly what I anticipated. The insurgents will quickly occupy the vacuum and unleash more terror on the Somalians. They have already begun attacking the withdrawing troops; this should give you an insight of what lies ahead. The situations in the country will definitely get worse; these groups will make the civilians pay for their losses.
The Islamist movement wants to turn Somalia into an Islamic country by brute force. This is their main aim, the reason for all the fighting. Why should people be forced to belong to a particular sect or religion or group in the 21st century? The Islamist insurgent in Somalia if not checked and stopped will become like the Taliban group in Afghanistan.
In their regime, the Taliban banned music and dancing, shut down movie theaters and television stations, destroyed public works of art that depicted living beings, and forbade the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Men were ordered to grow full, untrimmed beards (in accordance with orthodox Islam) and were rounded up and beaten with sticks in an effort to force prayer in the mosques. The Taliban strongly enforced the ancient custom of purdah, the veiling and seclusion of women from men. Women were ordered to cover themselves from head to toe in burkas (long, tentlike veils). Girls’ schools were closed, and women were forbidden to work outside their homes. As a result, hospitals lost almost all their staffs and children in orphanages were abandoned. In a country where hundreds of thousands of men had been killed in warfare, widows found themselves unable to work to provide basic necessities for their families. (Microsoft Encarta)
Same thing will happen in Somalia – my prediction – if these insurgents are not stopped now.
Few days ago Somalia was confirmed as a piracy capital. This restoration and reformation must start from somewhere.
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