Ethiopia in Somalia to Stop Islamists

[KevinTheOmnivore]

http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?menu=A11100&no=306581&rel_no=1&back_url=

Ethiopia in Somalia to Stop Islamists
Somali Islamist leader vows to launch a 'jihad' on the invaders


The crisis in Somalia has a new dimension now that neighboring Ethiopia has sent its military into the country to protect the weak interim government from advancing Islamist militants.

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which last month defeated warlords in Mogadishu, and took over the capital, had promised in principle not to attack the interim government.

Since the takeover, Ethiopia had made it clear that it would closely watch the situation and would not hesitate to take up arms against the Islamists if they went anywhere near the seat of the interim government, which is based in Baidoa.

When the Islamists on Wednesday invaded the nearby town of Burhakaba, Ethiopia decided enough was enough, and announced that it would respond by crushing the Islamists if they didn't withdraw immediately. This followed warnings from the interim prime minister, who alleged that the Islamists were advancing on Baidoa.

On Thursday morning, about 100 Ethiopian armored cars, trucks carrying soldiers, and armed pick-ups drove into Baidoa. Some of the troops moved on to station themselves in the strategic region of Gedo.

Agence-France Presse reported that the Ethiopian troops received a triumphant welcome in the town, which had feared an imminent invasion by the Islamists. It is estimated that Ethiopia deployed a limited contingent of 5,500 soldiers to help protect the interim government.

On the BBC's African interactive program, "Focus on Africa," Ethiopia's minister of information, Berhan Hailu, said Ethiopia finds itself in a position to guarantee stability in the Horn of Africa.

"If the Islamic courts led by the jihadists are attacking Baidoa, we have told them we will not let them do it," Hailu explained.

Speaking earlier to Reuters, Hailu said that Ethiopia would use all "means at our disposal to crush the Islamist group if they attempt to attack Baidoa."

"Ethiopia believes that the Somalia issue can only be resolved through [East African regional body] Igad and African Union resolutions," Hailu added.

In both interviews, Hailu refrained from confirming whether Ethiopian troops had actually moved into Somalia.

The UIC has been quick to respond to the latest developments. Their leader, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, confirmed at a press conference that Ethiopian troops were in fact in the country, warning that if they didn't leave immediately, the UIC would be forced to launch a jihad on them.

"God willing, we will remove the Ethiopians in our country and wage a jihadi war against them," he said.

Also on Thursday, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack responded to claims that Ethiopia had in fact moved troops into Somalia.

"We have seen the reports and we're watching the situation very closely...We would urge the government of Ethiopia to exercise restraint. Now, the reason for this increased level of tension in the area has been the movement of some forces from the Islamic Courts, in and around Baidoa."

[Preechr]

The biggest flaw of jihadists is that they never admit and thus learn from mistakes they've made. They never back down, and this makes them entirely too predictable to ever amount to a formidible force in the world. They resemble groups of thugs in a backwater town that are too dumb to keep their gang activity at least somewhat secret and thus out of the view of the police.

[kahljorn]

Somebody who claimed they were a muslim, rather convincingly, told me jihad is really, "an internal spiritual struggle".

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Mein Kampf is pretty similar, too.

[kahljorn]

I wonder if they won or lost the struggle.

[Big Papa Goat]

If one country invades a fucked up country to stop hostile Islamic fundamentalists there, and the one country isn't Jewish, is it still wrong?

[Preechr]

Nothing to see here... Move along...

[Abcdxxxx]

I think I mentioned in the last post on this topic that Ethiopea has some not too fond memories of bloodshed from their neighbors. They're being preemptive.

[ScruU2wice]

They resemble groups of thugs in a backwater town that are too dumb to keep their gang activity at least somewhat secret and thus out of the view of the police.

If by "resemble" you mean "are exactly the same as"...

[ScruU2wice]

Somebody who claimed they were a muslim, rather convincingly, told me jihad is really, "an internal spiritual struggle".

That's the real definition of it, you know, if you talk to muslims who aren't ass backwards lunatics.

Apparently Somalia is scarce with rational muslims, since it's a capital crime to miss any of the 5 daily prayers.

Somali Muslims warned of death
06/07/2006 11:36 - (SA)


Mogadishu - Somali Muslims who fail to perform daily prayers will be killed in accordance with Qur'anic law under a new edict issued by a leading cleric in the Islamic courts union that controlled the capital.

The requirement for Muslims to observe the five-times daily ritual under penalty of death was announced late on Wednesday and appeared to confirm the hardline nature of the increasingly powerful Sharia courts in Mogadishu.

Sheikh Abdalla Ali, a founder and high-ranking official in the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia, said: "He who does not perform prayers will be considered as infidel and Sharia law orders that that person be killed."

Peace and prosperity

Ali said: "Sharia law orders the killing of any Muslim person when he fails to perform prayers."

Ali added that it was the duty of every Somali to implement the provisions of Sharia law, which after fully accepted would allow "everybody to enjoy life based on peace and prosperity".

It was not immediately clear who would enforce the regulation or how, but the courts had well-armed militias that routed a United States-backed alliance of warlords in June after four months of bloody battles for control of Mogadishu.

Members of such militia shot and killed two people in central Somalia late on Tuesday while quelling a protest against a ban on watching the World Cup at a local cinema and had in the past been tasked with carrying out court rules.

US 'supports vanquished warlords'

Muslim militiamen had also presided at several public executions ordered by the Islamic courts in recent months and other Mogadishu residents had complained of harassment at their hands for not dressing properly.

The US supported the vanquished warlords in a bid to stem what American officials described as the "creeping Talibanisation" of Somalia by the courts that Washington accused of harbouring extremists, including al-Qaeda members.

The Islamists flatly rejected the charges, but had vowed to impose strict Sharia law across the overwhelmingly moderate Muslim country in what many saw as a direct challenge to Somalia's largely powerless transitional government.

The Islamic courts had signed a mutual recognition pact with the government and were due to meet with senior officials next week in Sudan, but remained at deep odds with the administration on several key issues.

Among them was the deployment of foreign peacekeepers to help the fledgling government restore a functioning central authority to Somalia, which had been in the throes of chaos for the past 16 years.

[Courage the Cowardly Dog]

If the islamist the ethiopians are trying to stop are anything like the ones in the Sudan who still practice crucifiction I say more power to the Ehtiopians. If they do well the US backed Somali government who right now is nearly powerless from years of civil war can finallyy regain power.

It's kinda funny tha now Lebanon is in a similar situation. They want the Hezballah pary disarmed but they don't havet he force so they allow Israel to go at it and assume control when Isael is done with their version of the war on terror. After all why would moderate Lebanon want Hezballah, a party whose mainly grounded in Syria and Iran to have a good stake in their government.

[Courage the Cowardly Dog]

the Somali cabinet minister was assasinated today leaving his mosque, shot in the head by the Islamists.