The Houston Chronicles quoted a resident of the Somali port town of Kismaayo as saying “We welcome the Islamic courtsâ€. The paper also reported Hirale’s deputy, Yusuf Mire Mohamud, as saying “the Juba Valley Alliance has collapsed today.â€.
Could Bosaaso and Berbera be next? It is unbelievable to see the speed of political and military advancement of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU)!
Click here to view the article.
Sunguta West writing for the “Global Terrorism Analysis†of the James Town Foundation says:
The ICU remains under the leadership of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who observers say is a moderate Islamist responsible for steering the courts in a convincing political direction and establishing a sense of law and order in Mogadishu and the southern parts of the country. Yet within this period, one of his moderate deputies, Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar, has appeared to bloom, speaking frequently and outlining ICU policy on issues including the training of its militia, peace talks and sometimes defending the courts when they make unpopular or extremist decisions. With the courts enjoying success after wrestling Somalia’s formal capital from a faction of warlords, Sheikh Omar defended the courts against accusations that the Islamists were harboring wanted terrorists in Mogadishu. Sheikh Omar, who is one of the vice chairmen of the executive council of the ICU, had on behalf of the courts said that such claims were not true. “If you can find a terrorist, let us know,” he told journalists in June. “If we find one we are very much prepared to hand him over. There are no foreign terrorists in Mogadishu” (Islam-Online.net, June 18).
I am not sure political significance of what Sunguta West is talking about.
Be the judge and read the full article by clicking here.
Dr. Michael A. Weinstein of The Power and Interest News Report (PINR):
Far from ameliorating the polarized power configuration pitting the I.C.C. against Ethiopia, which is determined to defend the T.F.G. and prevent the emergence of an Islamic state in Somalia, the second round of the Khartoum process — brokered by the Arab League (A.L.) — intensified the confrontation and spawned new conflicts. With all the players under severe duress, all of Somalia came into play, regional actors polarized as Western powers watched from the sidelines, and cracks appeared within Somalia’s society as local and clan conflicts surfaced, portending the possibility of civil war and a return to the extreme political fragmentation that had characterized the country before the I.C.C.’s surge through its southern and central regions in early June, after the Courts movement had expelled the ruling warlord coalition from Somalia’s official capital Mogadishu.
Interesting analysis! However, I just got the article from PINR through email few minutes ago and I will need to read it properly. Hopefully, I will be able to make a comment about this later this week.
In the meantime, you may like to click here to view the full article on the PINR.
The Independent newspaper of London says:
As protests against the Pope continued to rumble around the Muslim world yesterday, Catholics began asking themselves if this highly intelligent man can really have been so crass as to have ignited the passions of millions of Muslims without realising that he was doing it. If the alternative version is more credible - that he knew exactly what he was doing - then the next question arises: why? The gloomy conclusion of some Vatican experts is that there was no inconsistency in the Pope’s choice of the words “inhuman and evil” - quoted from the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus - to characterise Islam. Such a negative view, they say, is consistent with all his words and actions with regard to Islam. Their claims make for a tragic contrast with the decades devoted by John Paul II to the challenge of bringing Islam, Judaism and Christianity closer together after many centuries of hatred and bloodshed. Now all that hard work, rowing against the tide of history, seems to be at risk.
In his new role as the “Pope†for the Catholics, Joseph Ratzinger should be building bridges between religious believers; he should not be igniting controversies in an already volatile world with lots of irrational religious hostilities.
The Pope should do everything he can to help restore calm and religious tranquility between Christians and Muslims. He can do that by making a proper apology that could help stop extremism in both camps.
Click here to view the full article on The Independent.
The BBC News reports:
The African Union has approved plans to send 8,000 peacekeepers to Somalia to support the interim government. An alliance of Islamic courts which controls the capital and much of central and southern Somalia says it will oppose any deployment by force. A meeting at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, agreed that the first soldiers should be in place by the end of the month. But obstacles remain as the AU does not have the funds to pay for the troops. The approval for the force by the African Union Peace and Security Council also appears to fly in the face of a shaky agreement between Somalia’s interim government and the Islamic courts not to allow any foreign intervention.
This is a big political mistake that could potentially ignite new armed confrontation between Somali Army on one side and Col. Cabdullahi Yuusuf and his tribal militia with Ethiopian army on the other side. As I wrote before, Col. Cabdullahi Yuusuf and the failed TFG must understand that the political legitimacy cannot be achieved through the barrel of the gun. It must be earned through popular support!
The Somali people must defend their country against the looming threat of foreign invasion!
Click here to view then full dispatch by the BBC.
To date contributors to WFP’s Somalia programme in 2006 are:
United States: US$26.2 million
UK Department for International Development: US$9.64 million
The Netherlands: US$5.3 million
Saudi Arabia: US$3 million
Canada: US$1.3 million
Ireland: US$1.2 million
Italy: US$1.17 million
Sweden: US$1.16 million
United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund: US$851,000
Australia: US$752,000
Belgium: US$643,000
Finland: US$605,000
African Development Bank: US$500,000
Switzerland: US$379,000
Turkey: US$300,000
Norway: US$206,000
US Friends of WFP: US$74,000
Private donations: US$55,000
WFP needs a total of US$37 million to assist 1.1 million people in Somalia until July 2007.
Click here for more on this. You may also click here to learn more about WFP.
Mogadishu is once again a key entry point for getting food stocks into the country. The reopening of the port makes it easier for us to reach more than one million people across the country who rely on our assistance.
Leo van der Velden
Somalia Acting Country Director
UN World Food Program (WFP)
The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation reports:
An Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has reaffirmed support for the ongoing initiatives to promote dialogue for sustainable peace in Somalia. However the meeting at State House Nairobi today under the chairmanship of President Mwai Kibaki, the noted that the prevailing situation posed a threat to peace and gravely undermined the ability of the Transitional Federal Institutions in Somalia to consolidate the gains made so far to achieve long-term stability. The meeting, attended by President Abdulahi Yusuf of Somalia and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia re-affirmed support for the Transitional Federal Charter and Federal Transitional Institutions as an embodiment of the common will of the Somali people. In a communiqué issued at the end of the consultation, the IGAD forum expressed support for the ongoing dialogue between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and encouraged both parties to strive to overcome any differences by actively pursuing genuine reconciliation. The forum further reiterated that any dialogue must be based on the will of the Somalia people and preserve the sanctity of the Transitional Federal Charter and Federal Institutions which provide a solid political framework to achieve a lasting solution to the Somali problems. They endorsed the revised Igad Mission to Somalia (IGASOM) deployment plan as approved by the African Union (AU) peace and security council and further called on the AU to provide the requisite funds to enable the implementation of the first phase of the plan.
IGAD is a dysfunctional organisation run by depots, dictators and the enemy of the Somali Nation (Ethiopia and Kenya). Hence, no one should be surprised by this act! They want the tragic Somali conflict to continue!
Click here to view the full article.
Wangui Kanina of the Reuters news agency writes:
East African leaders pushed ahead on Tuesday with a contested plan to send peacekeepers to Somalia, despite a separate military deal between the country’s rival powers that appeared to block foreign intervention. The regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which led talks that produced Somalia’s interim government in 2004, urged the African Union to speed approval of the proposed peacekeeping mission, release funds and help raise more money to support the deployment of troops. IGAD also called on the U.N. Security Council to meet “urgently” to consider lifting its arms embargo on Somalia, torn apart by factions fighting for control of the Horn of Africa nation since warlords ousted Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Late on Monday, Islamist and government delegates meeting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, agreed in principle to join their military forces if they could agree on sharing political power. The pact stressed that neither side would accept military interference inside Somalia by neighboring countries and seemed to set up yet another possible conflict between the government and the Islamists.
The TFG must put screeching halt on this ill-thought and counter-productive plan. Col. Cabdullaahi Yuusuf and Cali Geedi cannot say we want to negotiate peace while at the same time they keeping fueling the conflict by pushing for African troop deployment in Somalia.
Somali peace talks need more honest peace brokers from the Arab and Islamic countries. As the saying goes “ Baadida ninbaa kula daydayi, daalna kaa badin, aan doonahayn inaad heshana daaying abidkaaâ€. Both Ethiopa and Kenya are working tirelessly for permanent break up of Somalia and further fragmentation of the Somali Nation.
We cannot and we must not allow Somalia’s enemies to sit on the driver’s seat as we did in the past!
Click here to view the full article onn Reuters.
The International Herald Tribune writes:
Somalia’s virtually powerless government and an Islamic militia that has seized control of much of southern Somalia have signed an agreement to eventually form a unified national army, officials said. The deal late Monday, which came after two days of peace talks in Sudan, did not specify when the agreement would take effect. Talks were to resume Oct. 30 in Khartoum. “The Islamic courts have met the expectations of our people,†said Abdullahi Sheik Ismail, one of several deputy prime ministers in the government. Both sides also agreed to form a peace committee in order to determine how to implement the plan. Ibrahim Hassan Adow, who signed on behalf of the Islamic courts, said: “We are pleased we came to this agreement within two days.†Another major point was that the Islamic courts will not take any more territory and will instead wait for the Oct. 30 talks. Both sides also agreed to stop the use of propaganda against each other.
I wonder what the TFG offered.
Click here to view the full report on the IHT.
Above story is reported also by Al Jazeera, LA Times and Ottawa Citizen.
The Dubai based Gulf News newspaper reports:
A copy of the agenda obtained by AP shows that the talks, expected to continue for several days, are to revolve around a June agreement to discuss political, security, social and economic issues as well as reconstruction. Negotiators have said they hope to discuss Cabinet positions for the Islamists and seats in the transitional parliament as well as the transitional charter. The Islamists could argue that they control a significant part of the country and on that basis should share power with Somali President Abdullahi Yousuf’s transitional government.
If true, this is really a big mistake by the ICU. I mean the ICU does not need to hold cabinet posts in the failed TFG. They already control the most strategic sectors of the country including Mogadishu. They should go ahead and assemble their own government by consulting with Somali people and its local leaders. The TFG had its chance to lead the country and it failed.
Somalia needs a fresh start!
The South African Mail and Guardian Reports:
At least 12 people were killed and 11 wounded on Monday when Somali police clashed with gunmen for control of the airport in the government seat of Baidoa, officials and witnesses said. The fighting erupted as members of the weak transitional administration met with Somalia’s powerful Islamic movement in Sudan but was unrelated to the peace talks, although it underscored instability in the lawless nation. Police said they had moved on the Baidoa airport to evict militia fighters who had set up shop there, imposing taxes and recruiting cronies into their ranks after having been dismissed as airport security workers. “Twelve people have been killed, seven militiamen and five from the government security,” Baidoa police official Omar Aden Abdulle said from the town, about 250km north-west of Mogadishu.
Click here to view the full report.
C. Bryson Hull of the Reuters news agency writes:
Anarchic Somalia has confounded U.S. foreign policy once again, leaving Washington struggling to find a coherent approach to a state whose internal turmoil threatens to destabilise the Horn of Africa. The Bush administration appears to have realised that its “one-size-fits-all” approach to countering global terrorist threats failed in Somalia. But it is groping for an appropriate response to the new situation, diplomats and analysts say. Though overshadowed by the Middle East and Iraq, anarchic Somalia has long worried Washington because of fears its coastline — Africa’s longest — and proximity to the Arabian Peninsula could be exploited by militants posing a threat to U.S. interests and looking for a gateway into east Africa. A covert counter-terrorism initiative in which the United States threw its support behind secular warlords fighting Islamists in Mogadishu backfired spectacularly in June. The U.S. involvement actually worked to strengthen the Islamists’ hand and helped them conquer the capital, analysts say. Now with an internationally recognised interim government’s hopes of survival flagging in the face of a well-armed and organised Islamist movement, Washington’s only play so far has been to promote talks to bring the Islamists into the administration.
As I have argued here, here, and elsewhere in this blog, the Bush Administration’s foreign policy towards Somalia is at best, counter-productive and at worst destructive!
Click here to view the full article on Reuters.
The Reuters news agency reports:
Talks aimed at reconciling Somalia’s fledgling transitional government and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), were continuing on Monday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, under the mediation of the League of Arab States. At the same time Kenya announced that President Mwai Kibaki would on Tuesday chair a special summit of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which will discuss the Somali crisis. IGAD, which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia, mediated the reconciliation talks that culminated in the formation of the transitional government in Kenya in October 2004.
Click here to view the full report.
Foreign interference and the presence of foreign forces on Somali soil, some of whom are already there, is a recipe for another civil war, instead of the pursuit of reconciliation and reconstruction.
Ibrahim Hussein Addow,
Leader of Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union Delegation
Khartoum, Sudan.
I agree!
Speaking in Khartoum, Sharif Xasan Aadan, the man who brought the failed TFG to its knees was quoted as saying:
We are brothers, we can achieve a lot. We want to focus on ways and means to take Somalia out of its current debacle.
Certainly, we are brothers and sisters as Somalis. However, I wonder why Sharif Xasan Aadan failed to recognize that simple fact in the past! I do not think any Somali will buy that cheap, immoral and deceptive statement. Sharif Xasan Aadan cannot say we are brothers only when it suits his selfish political agendas.
The International Heard Tribune reports:
Sudan Negotiators for Somalia’s transitional government and its Islamist rivals met face to face behind closed doors Sunday for key talks in the Sudanese capital on political, security and economic issues. The talks — aimed at steering Somalia away from anarchic violence and toward peace and stability — revolve around a June agreement to discuss political, security, social and economic issues as well as reconstruction, according to a copy of the agenda obtained by The Associated Press. Somali parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden was seen leading delegates from the U.N.-backed Somali government into the talks with Islamic courts representatives led by Ibrahim Hassan Adow, the group’s foreign affairs chief.
Negotiators have said they hope to discuss Cabinet positions for the Islamists and seats in Parliament as well as the transitional charter in talks that are expected to last several days.
The paper went on by saying:
Aden and Adow made no statements Sunday before going into the meeting but reaffirmed Saturday that they are committed to peace. Adow warned, however, that foreign interference in Somalia would be “a recipe for the renewal of civil war,” alluding to reports that Ethiopian troops had taken up position in three Somali towns.
As I have argued endless times in the past, I do not really understand the point of wasting time talking with the failed TFG and its Ethiopian Viceroy; Col. Cabdullahi Yuusuf Axmed! Now, what will Col. Cabdullahi Yuusuf offer to the ICU or to the Somali people in return for allowing him to continuing as a head of state? The answer to the question is simply NOTHING! Yes, I am aware of the fact that the Colonel has threatened to help full Ethiopian invasion of Somalia if he is asked to leave power and go home to Addis Abba. However, I do not think that there is anyone in Somalia today who is taking that threat very seriously other than the Colonel himself!
Having said that, I think, it is wise of the ICU leaders to show that they mean peace and that they are willing to talk to anyone in order to end the tragic political conflict in our beloved country. Nonetheless, no one should be under any illusion about the outcome of the inane talks in Sudan. It is just a farce!