Alliance of Somali Warlords Battles Islamists in Capital
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 12 A new front in the fight against terrorism has broken out on the streets of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, as a group of Islamists battle Somali warlords allied with Washington’s aim of rooting out Muslim extremism from the region.
nytimes.com
‘allied with Washington’s aims’…that’s putting it mildly. The Times so elegant and so intelligent.
Warring Somali ministers warned
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has warned his ministers that they cannot continue to serve in his government while leading militias into battle.
His comments follow a week of fighting between an alliance of warlords – some of whom have seats in the transitional government – and an Islamist militia.
About 150 people, mainly civilians, have died in the capital Mogadishu.
One warlord, the Security Minister Mohamed Qanyare, says his militia is fighting “al-Qaeda in Somalia”.
Mr Abdullahi called on both sides to end the fighting, and told the BBC the alliance of warlords “are not fighting on behalf of the government”.
Map of the Somali capital, Mogadishu
He said it was up to parliament “to take an appropriate action against those members who are waging the war”.
And he called on the US to work with the government not “individuals in the capital” to fight terrorism.
There are strong suspicions the US has been secretly funding the warlords, although Washington insists it has not violated the arms embargo in Somalia, the BBC’s Africa Editor David Bamford says.
But a top US diplomat in Africa, Jendayi Frazer, acknowledged on Friday that the White House would work with those who can help “prevent Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists”.