Islamic Militants Declare Victory in Mogadishu
By MARC LACEY
nytimes.com.
( Will this be the new Afghanistan, a haven for AQ? )
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 5 — Islamic militias declared victory today over Somalia's traditional warlords in the battle for control of Mogadishu, quelling months of fierce fighting in the lawless capital but raising new questions about whether this regime, which American officials have accused of sheltering terrorists, will steer the country down an extremist path.
"We want to restore peace and stability to Mogadishu," Sheik Sharif Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Courts Union, said in a radio broadcast, according to The Associated Press. "We are ready to meet and talk to anybody and any group for the interest of the people."
Some of the warlords who have ruled over Mogadishu for the last 15 years were on the run today. One was holed up in a hospital north of the city. Others were on the outskirts of the capital, their forces having been pushed from the strategic center.
They had been defeated by militia fighters allied with the Islamic courts that have grown in influence throughout Somalia in recent years, filling a void left by the lack of a central government. The Islamists are a loose coalition of leaders who have put forward Islam, the universal religion in Somalia, as the way out of anarchy.
Today in Washington, a State Department spokesman said he had no details about the latest reports, but expressed concerns about the potential for aiding terrorists.
"We're very interested in seeing that the Somali people start to build up institutions that are responsive to the Somali people, that at some point have the hope of being democratic institutions that respect the rights of all individuals there," said the spokesman, Sean McCormack, at a briefing. "At the same time, we don't want to see Somalia turned into a safe haven for foreign terrorists. We do have very real concerns about that."
Washington has been widely accused of secretly financing the warlords, who fashioned themselves into a counterterrorism alliance to root out Al Qaeda elements in Mogadishu. Although American officials have yet to confirm giving payments to the warlords, the widespread belief that money was changing hands only seemed to strengthen the hands of the Islamists among many Somalis.
Backing the Islamists have been business leaders eager to end the arbitrary rule of the warlords, as well as freelance gunmen willing to work for anyone who pays them a salary and supplies them with a daily fix of khat, a leaf that many Somalis chew as a natural stimulant.
Now that the Islamists have taken over Mogadishu, the question remains how they will choose to govern and whether infighting among the Islamists themselves might send the city back into the chaos it has long known.
More than 300 people have been killed and 1,700 wounded in the recent fighting, according to figures provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"We have to appeal to the moderates in this Islamist movement," said Mario Raffaelli, the Italian special envoy for Somalia. "We have to make clear that we are supporting the government."
The upheaval in Mogadishu comes as a transitional government that was created after two years of peace talks struggles to establish a toehold in the country. Based in Baidoa, outside Mogadishu, because it lacked the strength to take on the many gunmen based in the capital, the government finds itself negotiating with a largely unknown force.
In a cabinet meeting late Sunday night, as the victory by the Islamic courts became clear, the government decided to open talks with the new administration. They also fired the four Mogadishu warlords who had been battling the Islamists. The four warlords held cabinet positions in the new government but flouted calls by their colleagues for them to stop fighting.
The four men are Mohamed Qanre Afrah, who was minister of national security; Muse Sudi Yalahow, who was minister of commerce; Botan Isse Alin, minister of demobilization; and Omar Mohamed Mohamud, minister of religious affairs.
Somalia has been without a central government since the country slipped into civil war in 1992. An American-led humanitarian effort in 1993, which was transformed into a hunt for some of Mogadishu's warlords, ended badly after 18 American soldiers were killed in a battle made famous by the book and film "Black Hawk Down."
Christine Hauser contributed reporting from New York for this article.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company |
