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Somali Government Fails to Tame Capital
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf's Darood clan has little or no presence in the capital, leaving him with no local allies. The majority of Mogadishu residents are from a rival clan, the Hawiye, which is itself riven with factions whose warlords in the past divided up the capital among themselves.
The Islamic group, meanwhile, has not even joined the meeting and most of its leaders are in hiding.
  A heavily armed Ethiopian soldier is seen in the streets of Kismayu, Somalia, in this Tuesday, Jan 2, 2006 file photo. Eight months after the U.N.-backed government supported by troops from neighboring Ethiopia rolled into Mogadishu promising peace, divisions over clan, politics and power are stronger than ever. The chaos is allowing a deadly Islamic insurgency to gain momentum in a region seen as a key battleground in the war on terror. (AP Photo) (AP) PHOTOS |
"Powerful sub-clans are totally alienated from the governance of the country, and have allied themselves with the Islamists in order to undermine stability and take down the transitional authority," said John Prendergast, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group, which monitors conflict zones.
The United States has repeatedly accused the Islamic group of harboring international terrorists linked to al-Qaida and allegedly responsible for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. America is concerned that Somalia could be a breeding ground for terror, particularly after the Islamists gained power briefly last year and Osama bin Laden declared his support for them.
The U.S. sent a small number of special operations troops with the Ethiopian forces that drove the Islamic forces into hiding. In January, U.S. warplanes carried out at least two airstrikes in an attempt to kill suspected al-Qaida members, Pentagon officials have said.
Other than the airstrikes in January, the U.S. has avoided overt military action in Somalia since it led a U.N. force that intervened in the 1990s in an effort to fight famine. The mission led to clashes between U.N. forces and Somali warlords, including a battle chronicled in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down" that killed 18 U.S. soldiers.
Besides the seemingly endless violence in Somalia, the country struggles with hunger and disease. Life expectancy at birth is 46 years; a quarter of children die before they reach 5. In many areas, malnutrition rates are 20 percent or above.
"We civilians are in pain from every direction," said Abdi Kafi, a Somali peace activist. "We are the poorest of the poor in society, we fear for our children. How painful that is."
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On the Net:
State Department on al-Qaida threat in Somalia, http:/
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Associated Press reporters in Mogadishu, Somalia, contributed to this report.
