Stronghold of Secular Warlords Falls; Transitional Government Calls for Foreign Peacekeepers
By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, June 15, 2006
NAIROBI, June 14 -- Islamic militias asserted control over southern Somalia on Wednesday by routing once-powerful secular warlords from one of their last remaining strongholds and moving closer to the headquarters of the country's fragile, U.N.-backed government.
The town of Jowhar, about 60 miles north of the militias' base in the capital, Mogadishu, fell in a morning attack that left at least four people dead and prompted several remaining warlords to flee in heavily armed pickup trucks, according to news reports.
More than 300 Somalis have died in fighting in recent months as the Islamic militias have driven the secular warlords, who have had U.S. support, from most of southern Somalia.
The militias immediately declared a nighttime curfew in Jowhar and announced plans to impose Islamic law, or sharia , which in recent years has brought some order to lawless Mogadishu.
"Beginning from now, the sharia courts will be the only rule in this region, and the people of Jowhar should understand that," said Sharif Ahmed, chairman of the militias' umbrella group, the Islamic Courts Union, according to the Reuters news service, reporting from Jowhar.
Fearing an attack, members of the country's largely powerless transitional government voted Wednesday to invite foreign peacekeepers to enter Somalia. The government is based in Baidoa, about 130 miles from Jowhar. The town is one of the last significant places in the southern region not controlled by the militias.
The Islamic militias have repeatedly rejected calls for foreign peacekeepers, fearing that neighboring countries, especially Somalia's historic enemy, Ethiopia, would use such a deployment as a pretext to meddle in Somalia's affairs. That fear has been sharpened by the reportedly warm relations between Ethiopia and the president of the transitional government, Abdullahi Yusuf.
"They will back Yusuf. They will come to Mogadishu," said Abdurahman Osman, a representative of the Islamic militias, speaking in Nairobi.
The issue threatened to drive apart the militias and the transitional government at a time when international officials are pushing the groups to negotiate a solution to Somalia's lasting trouble. Islamic militia leaders warned repeatedly in the past week that they would end discussions with the transitional government if it invited foreign troops to Somalia.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since largely clan-based warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The warlords then began fighting one another, turning the country into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms. Central and northern Somalia became largely self-governed as the nominal capital descended into chaos.
The United States reportedly became involved in supporting the warlords as it sought help in capturing terrorism suspects hiding in Somalia. Among the leaders of the Islamic militias, U.S. officials have said, are extremists with links to al-Qaeda. Since taking control of Mogadishu last week, however, militia leaders have made repeated overtures to the United States and sought to portray themselves as moderates seeking to stabilize a chaotic country.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.