Islamist Forces Seize Towns in Somalia

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: November 12, 2006
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 12 — Islamist forces expanded their reach in Somalia today by seizing towns near Galkaayo, in the country’s north, which up until now had been relatively peaceful.
The Islamists then turned their guns toward Galkaayo and began shelling the outskirts of the city, witnesses said.
The fighting threatened to push Somalia even closer to the brink of an all-out war between the Islamic forces who rule Mogadishu, the seaside capital, and the weak, transitional government based in the inland city of Baidoa. The militias who were routed today were loyal to the transitional government and their defeat was interpreted as yet another sign of the transitional government’s weakness.
Both sides blamed each other for the bloodshed, which claimed up to 10 lives.
“The government troops ambushed us,” said Abdulrahim Ali Modei, spokesman for the Council of Islamic Courts, the network of Islamic forces ruling Mogadishu, according to Reuters.
But an official with the transitional government denied that, saying the Islamists attacked first.
On Saturday, leaders of the transitional government rejected a deal to restart peace talks, although several members of the transitional government, including the speaker of Somalia’s Parliament, had agreed to negotiate with Islamic leaders.
Somalia has been engulfed in anarchy for years, but many Western officials in east Africa worry that the conflict on the horizon could be worse than before because it has the potential to drag in Somalia’s neighbors. Already, Ethiopia has sent hundreds and possibly thousands of troops into Somalia to support the transitional government, and several Arab countries are suspected of backing the Islamists.
“If there is a war,” said a high-ranking American military official last week, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, “the fighting ends up protracted and long and spills across the border.”
On Saturday, Kenyan authorities banned all scheduled flights in and out of Somalia, citing security risks. The American government recently issued a warning that said suicide bombers from Somalia may be plotting attacks in Kenya and Ethiopia.

The New York Times