05/10/2006
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New clashes in the Somali capital. The USA emerges amidst warlords and Islamic courts
Another bloody weekend in Mogadishu. Sunday clashes between warlords of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism and the Islamic courts, which carried on into Monday morning, left 35 dead and
hurled the city into chaos. Could Washington have a hand in the war over the capital?
New fights. “The two factions had been amassing weapons and men for days,” cameraman Abdullahi
Farah Duguf told PeaceReporter. “Nothing like the March clashes (in which more than 100 died, editor’s note), but there is the risk that this
was just a starter.” Negotiations between the ARPCT and the Islamic courts never got under way, and up to this point that is nothing
new. The dramatic turn of events came about when Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf
last Friday openly accused the USA of backing the ARPCT, thus contributing to destabilizing the already fragile Somali political picture.
Adverse to the Islamic courts seizing power, the USA allegedly included them in
its fight against terrorism. “The USA’s support of Mogadishu’s warlords is nothing
new,” Matt Bryden of the International Crisis Group told PeaceReporter. “Yusuf himself has known about it ever since he headed the Puntland region.
His statements are a simple invitation to the USA to work closer with the new
Somali leaders, setting aside its previous alliances.”
Washington’s role. The USA, which officially supports the peace process, allegedly opted for a
short-term strategy of allying itself with the warlords as the lesser of evils.
“The problem is that a design of this sort has few chances of success,” Bryden
continued. “It could lead to a few initial results, but in the long run the country’s
instability would jeopardize the final victory.” PeaceReporter tried to contact the press office of the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya,
for a comment on Yusuf’s statements, but without success. American authorities
clammed up on the subject, and did not issue statements even to the top international
press agencies. A tacit confirmation of the legitimacy of the accusations? “Everyone
knows about the affair here in Mogadishu,” Duguf said. “Supplies of American weapons
and funds, but no direct intervention. Except for the American helicopters that
patrol Mogadishu’s skies every night.”
New Strategies. The Horn of Africa is one of the new frontiers Washington has chosen in its fight
against terrorism. Since 2003 the Combined Joint Task Force, an American military
mission numbering 1800 units, has been active in Djibouti. It operates in seven
surrounding African countries, including Somalia. The main task of the mission,
stationed in the former base of the French Foreign Legion, is precisely to fight
against terrororism, whether through military operations or by assisting the civilian
population. “The region’s instability could actually help terrorism grow,” said
Bryden. “Right now small armed, isolated groups without the population’s support
are active. But this does not mean that they can become a true threat in the future.”
This view is shared by the U.S. administration, which would like to make Djibouti
NATO’s main base in the area in upcoming years, increasing the effectives to 3000.
But the civilian population does not offer confirmation.
The Islamic courts. “The fight against terrorism makes many things misconstrued, first and foremost
being the issue of the Islamic courts,” concluded Duguf. “These courts, which
apply sharia, refer to the various clans of the city and have brought some order and certainty
of law.” One advantage that is not a small thing in a country devastated by 15
years of civil war and devoid of a credible government. But is there a link between
the courts and the terrorist threat? “Some of these courts are creating problems,
but more because of their desire to control the entire city than anything else,”
admitted our source. Most of them in any case have no political ambition, and
it becomes difficult to think of them having a plan of global destabilization.
We have only too many problems at home.”
New fights. “The two factions had been amassing weapons and men for days,” cameraman Abdullahi
Farah Duguf told PeaceReporter. “Nothing like the March clashes (in which more than 100 died, editor’s note), but there is the risk that this
was just a starter.” Negotiations between the ARPCT and the Islamic courts never got under way, and up to this point that is nothing
new. The dramatic turn of events came about when Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf
last Friday openly accused the USA of backing the ARPCT, thus contributing to destabilizing the already fragile Somali political picture.
Adverse to the Islamic courts seizing power, the USA allegedly included them in
its fight against terrorism. “The USA’s support of Mogadishu’s warlords is nothing
new,” Matt Bryden of the International Crisis Group told PeaceReporter. “Yusuf himself has known about it ever since he headed the Puntland region.
His statements are a simple invitation to the USA to work closer with the new
Somali leaders, setting aside its previous alliances.” Washington’s role. The USA, which officially supports the peace process, allegedly opted for a
short-term strategy of allying itself with the warlords as the lesser of evils.
“The problem is that a design of this sort has few chances of success,” Bryden
continued. “It could lead to a few initial results, but in the long run the country’s
instability would jeopardize the final victory.” PeaceReporter tried to contact the press office of the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya,
for a comment on Yusuf’s statements, but without success. American authorities
clammed up on the subject, and did not issue statements even to the top international
press agencies. A tacit confirmation of the legitimacy of the accusations? “Everyone
knows about the affair here in Mogadishu,” Duguf said. “Supplies of American weapons
and funds, but no direct intervention. Except for the American helicopters that
patrol Mogadishu’s skies every night.” New Strategies. The Horn of Africa is one of the new frontiers Washington has chosen in its fight
against terrorism. Since 2003 the Combined Joint Task Force, an American military
mission numbering 1800 units, has been active in Djibouti. It operates in seven
surrounding African countries, including Somalia. The main task of the mission,
stationed in the former base of the French Foreign Legion, is precisely to fight
against terrororism, whether through military operations or by assisting the civilian
population. “The region’s instability could actually help terrorism grow,” said
Bryden. “Right now small armed, isolated groups without the population’s support
are active. But this does not mean that they can become a true threat in the future.”
This view is shared by the U.S. administration, which would like to make Djibouti
NATO’s main base in the area in upcoming years, increasing the effectives to 3000.
But the civilian population does not offer confirmation. The Islamic courts. “The fight against terrorism makes many things misconstrued, first and foremost
being the issue of the Islamic courts,” concluded Duguf. “These courts, which
apply sharia, refer to the various clans of the city and have brought some order and certainty
of law.” One advantage that is not a small thing in a country devastated by 15
years of civil war and devoid of a credible government. But is there a link between
the courts and the terrorist threat? “Some of these courts are creating problems,
but more because of their desire to control the entire city than anything else,”
admitted our source. Most of them in any case have no political ambition, and
it becomes difficult to think of them having a plan of global destabilization.
We have only too many problems at home.” Matteo Fagotto
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