Post by Said1 on Aug 22, 2006 11:43:28 GMT -5
If a full blown war does break out in the horn region, that will cause major problems for ships coming out of the gulf.......oil tankers....
Continued Here
So, what are they fighting about......religion and territory. What century is this?
slamists in Somalia Sharply Rebuff Plan for African Peacekeepers
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By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: August 19, 2006
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 18 — The Islamic clerics who rule much of Somalia on Friday rejected a plan for African peacekeepers to be deployed there, saying that foreign soldiers, African or not, would be mercilessly repelled.
On Thursday, East African military leaders met in Nairobi and floated a plan to send more than 6,000 soldiers to Somalia. The country seems to be teetering on the edge of war between the Islamic forces who control the capital, Mogadishu, and a fledgling transitional government based in Baidoa and backed by Ethiopia. Many fear that such a war could drag in Somalia’s neighbors and destabilize the entire region.
Military chiefs for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional organization that includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, said they would like to dispatch the first troops to Somalia by October.
But less than 24 hours after the announcement, Islamic clerics in Mogadishu called for a holy war against the peacekeepers.
“We are Muslims, and we are targeted for that identity,” said Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, the spiritual head of the Islamic forces.
Somalia’s Islamic leaders fear that the peacekeeping plan is simply a ruse to back up the transitional government, which has been hurt by defections and rivalries and is still so weak that its leaders are more or less confined to Baidoa, 150 miles inland from Mogadishu.
On Friday, imams at Mogadishu’s mosques urged followers to join Islamic militias and prepare for battle. One said, “The mosque will be the industry that will produce heroes,” according to a Somali reporter who did not want to be identified because of safety concerns. The militias recently began a recruitment drive for teenage boys, and many war-orphaned children have been signing up.
* Sign In to E-Mail This
* Reprints
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Article Tools Sponsored By
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: August 19, 2006
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 18 — The Islamic clerics who rule much of Somalia on Friday rejected a plan for African peacekeepers to be deployed there, saying that foreign soldiers, African or not, would be mercilessly repelled.
On Thursday, East African military leaders met in Nairobi and floated a plan to send more than 6,000 soldiers to Somalia. The country seems to be teetering on the edge of war between the Islamic forces who control the capital, Mogadishu, and a fledgling transitional government based in Baidoa and backed by Ethiopia. Many fear that such a war could drag in Somalia’s neighbors and destabilize the entire region.
Military chiefs for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional organization that includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, said they would like to dispatch the first troops to Somalia by October.
But less than 24 hours after the announcement, Islamic clerics in Mogadishu called for a holy war against the peacekeepers.
“We are Muslims, and we are targeted for that identity,” said Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, the spiritual head of the Islamic forces.
Somalia’s Islamic leaders fear that the peacekeeping plan is simply a ruse to back up the transitional government, which has been hurt by defections and rivalries and is still so weak that its leaders are more or less confined to Baidoa, 150 miles inland from Mogadishu.
On Friday, imams at Mogadishu’s mosques urged followers to join Islamic militias and prepare for battle. One said, “The mosque will be the industry that will produce heroes,” according to a Somali reporter who did not want to be identified because of safety concerns. The militias recently began a recruitment drive for teenage boys, and many war-orphaned children have been signing up.
Continued Here
So, what are they fighting about......religion and territory. What century is this?