It has been a while since my last post and I thought I would update you on the crisis in Mogadishu.
The leader of Somalia's Islamic movement has urged his countrymen to wage a "holy war" against Ethiopia. The call from Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, head of the consultative Union of Islamic Courts' Shura, came a day after Ethiopian troops moved into Baidoa, the seat of the UN-backed Somali government. Speaking on the Shabelle radio station on Friday, Aweys said Ethiopia deployed troops to the town 240km northwest of Mogadishu, to bolster what he described as a puppet regime. "They came to protect a government which they set up to advance their interests." He said Abdullahi Yusuf, the president and his longtime rival, has "been a servant of Ethiopia for a long time".
Call to arms
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, chairman of the executive committee of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia, said: "Somalia is under attack and Somalis must defend their country. "Anybody who sides with Ethiopia will be considered a traitor."He was speaking from Mogadishu, the Somali capital, which the Islamists seized from a US-backed alliance of militia commanders last month.
Violation
The Islamists pulled back on Thursday, but the Somali Prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, accused them of plotting to attack his government in violation of a truce and mutual recognition deal. The Ethiopian government continued to deny the presence of any Ethiopian troops in Somalia. A Somali government spokesman said: "This is absolute propaganda from the Islamists. There are no Ethiopian troops in Baidoa. Anybody with the evidence should come forward."
Out of proportion
But a senior Somali government security source said "a few" Ethiopian troops were in Baidoa. He said, however, that they were there to train Somali troops and were not an occupying or protective force. "The media and Mogadishu-based Islamists have blown the matter out of proportion," he said. "No Ethiopian troops are here to occupy Somalia. "As a friendly neighbouring country, they will assist the government to form its own forces."
In another development, a second cargo plane has landed in Mogadishu, fuelling speculation that the Islamists are receiving weapons in violation of a UN arms embargo. The plane is the same one that touched down in Mogadishu on Wednesday and credible sources said that flight originated in Eritrea carrying anti-aircraft guns, uniforms, AK47s and several senior Eritrean officers.
5 comments:
Yasmin,
Good to see you posting again.
That's a frightening development that the Islamists are apparently arming themselves with help from ourside their country.
I wonder if the help is coming from Iran?
Somehow I suspect Saudi involvement. The UIC are similar to the Taliban, in that they're an offshoot of Wahabism/Salafism. Also, Adan Hashi Ayro, a militia commander of one of the courts was trained in Afghanistan. He is responsible for closing down cinemas to prevent people from watching the Soccer World Cup...I'm having a scary dejavu moment here...
There are ideological divisions within the Islamist groups,however, currently overlooked by the fact they had a common enemy - the warlords. Now that the warlords have been ousted, and the clans have switched their allegiance to the Islamists, these divisions might surface.
I wouldn't rule out Iranian involvement either, but at this moment I don't have any information to support this claim.
Neither do I, but I think there is clearly a worldwide movement, because the same thing is going on in Chechneya, the Phillipines, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Kashmir, etc., and it all heated up at the same time, approximately.
You are probably correct about it being Saudi-based. We know that that is where a lot of the funding came for Chechneya and Bosnia.
They seem to have better funding mechanisms than we do.
What are we doing to support Ethiopia?
Nothing. In fact, the US has warned both Ethiopia and Eritrea not to interfere in Somalia.
The US seems undecided on what course to take regarding the UIC. I think this is something the US might regret...they need to back the transitional government before it's too late. It's only a matter of time before the Islamists make their advance towards the north, in their mission to turn the rest of Somalia into a Taliban like state. They've already banned movies, music and mixing of the sexes. They've also established public executions...It makes me sad to see the country of my origin deteriorate and step back into the dark ages.
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