Nairobi, Kenya - A major offensive by Islamic rebels has brought Somalia's internationally backed government close to collapse and renewed the possibility that a militant Islamist regime that allegedly has ties to Al Qaeda could seize control of the East African nation.
That would be a devastating blow to US counter-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts in East Africa, where Al Qaeda operatives bombed the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. American intelligence officials accuse the rebels' spiritual leader, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, of helping to shelter suspects in those attacks, and since 2007 US forces have launched airstrikes at terrorist targets in Somalia.
After a week of heavy mortar and rocket attacks that have left at least 135 people dead and sent tens of thousands fleeing, the insurgents have moved to within a half-mile of the hilltop presidential palace in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, which is being guarded by African Union peacekeepers with tanks and armored vehicles.
The Islamists, reportedly joined by hundreds of foreign fighters, didn't move on the palace Friday and almost certainly would lose a ground confrontation with the better-armed, 4,300-man peacekeeping force. Still, Aweys, a veteran hard-liner who US officials charge is linked to Al Qaeda, vowed to topple the government and institute "the Islamic state of Somalia."
Less than four months after a new, moderate Islamic government formed in a country that's been in the grip of civil war since 1991, the latest multimillion-dollar international plan to stabilize Somalia appears to be in tatters.
The UN refugee agency said that this week's clashes had sent some 30,000 people fleeing and overwhelmed hospitals with casualties. Some Mogadishu residents have been trapped in their homes for days, unable to flee street battles raging around their neighborhoods, the agency said.
"The extremists see [Ahmed] as a sellout," Abdi said. "They call him 'the man of the American Islam.' He's not practicing the harsh brand of Islam they practice, so they want his blood."
Militant Islamists have the moderate government surrounded in Mogadishu. If they took over, it would be a devastating blow to US counter-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts in East Africa.
Like the article says, Less than four months after a new, moderate Islamic government formed in a country that's been in the grip of civil war since 1991, the latest multimillion-dollar international plan to stabilize Somalia appears to be in tatters. What are your thoughts on this? Can you think of any solutions to stop the extremists from trying topple the Somalia government?
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"Your distress about life might mean you have been living for the wrong reason, not that you have no reason for living." Tom O' Connor
There's a hope the better equipped Somalia/African Union army can keep control. Al Qaeda running a nation with all the pirates?! When those pirates seize gun shipments, they ain't going to be looking at those as ransom bargaining chips, they are going to utilize them in their arsenal. More African Union soldiers is needed there, but realistically Somalia just cannot have a functioning government. The warlords have too much power. Their neighboring Countries need to do a better job of securing their borders to prevent foreigners from being able to come in Somalia to help the militants.
