Islamic Militia Seizes Somalia's Capital

Somalia Islamic militia members rest next to a truck carrying an anti aircraft gun that they have seized from a secular alliance of warlords, Monday, June 5, 2006 after they took control of Mogadishu's Deyniile neighborhood. An Islamic militia that wants to establish a fundamentalist government in Somalia said Monday it has seized control of the capital, after weeks of some of the bloodiest fighting in 15 years of anarchy in this Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor) (Mohamed Sheikh Nor - AP)

"We do have real concerns about the presence of foreign terrorists in Somalia, and that informs an important aspect of our policy with regard to Somalia," he said.

The United States has not carried out any direct action in Somalia since the deaths of 18 servicemen in a 1993 battle depicted in the film "Black Hawk Down."

The U.S. officials said recently that Islamic leaders in Mogadishu are sheltering three al-Qaida leaders indicted in the deadly 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The same al-Qaida cell is believed responsible for the 2002 suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya that killed 15 people and a simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner over Kenya.

The Islamic militants and their secular rivals began competing for influence in earnest after a U.N.-backed interim government slowly began to gain international recognition. The government, weak and wracked by infighting, has not even been able to enter the capital because of the violence.

Interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi recently fired four ministers who were part of the secular alliance, leaving the alliance without any support in the government.

Mogadishu residents expressed relief at Monday's relative peace, but had mixed responses to the Islamic militia's advance.

"The victory of Islamic courts is a major step toward a lasting peaceful settlement in Mogadishu," said Somali economist Abdinasir Ahmed. "We are tired of the deception and rhetoric of the warlords."

Abdulqaadir Bashir, a computer engineer, disagreed. "The Islamic clerics want to be like Taliban regime in Afghanistan," he said. "People have no hope at all."

Jamal said it will take time for the militants to consolidate their power in Mogadishu, and that the struggle to control the country will not end there. He called on the international community to do everything possible to support the U.N.-backed government to keep the Islamic radicals from expanding their power base any farther.

"This war will not stop in Mogadishu," Jamal said.