Somalia: Islamists on the verge.

Islamists on trail of Somali pirates

Fri Nov 21, 2008 4:41pm EST
By Abdi Sheikh

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Dozens of Somali Islamist insurgents stormed a port on Friday hunting the pirates behind the seizure of a Saudi supertanker that was the world's biggest hijack, a local elder said.

Separately, police in the capital Mogadishu said they had ambushed and shot dead 17 Islamist militants, in the latest illustration of the chaos in the Horn of Africa country that has fueled a dramatic surge in piracy.

[...]

SOMALI NATION 'AT STAKE'

In Mogadishu, police said they laid in wait and shot dead 17 fighters from the militant al Shabaab insurgent group during an attempted attack on a senior official.

The Islamists have been fighting the government and its Ethiopian allies for about two years. They launch near-daily guerrilla strikes in the capital and control most of the south, including a town just nine miles from Mogadishu.

Islamist leaders deny allegations they collude with pirates and insist they will stamp down on them if they win power, citing a crackdown when they ruled the south briefly in 2006.
Some analysts, however, say Islamist militants are benefiting from the spoils of piracy and arms shipments facilitated by the sea gangs. Analysts also accuse government figures of collaboration with pirates.

The elder in Haradheere port told Reuters the Islamists arrived wanting to find out immediately about the Sirius Star, which was captured on Saturday about 450 nautical miles off Kenya in the pirates' furthest strike to date.

"The Islamists arrived searching for the pirates and the whereabouts of the Saudi ship," said the elder, who declined to be named. "I saw four cars full of Islamists driving in the town from corner to corner. The Islamists say they will attack the pirates for hijacking a Muslim ship."

In Mogadishu, al Shabaab gunmen drove to the home of the local Madina district chairman early in the morning, but found police officers lying in wait, witnesses said.

"We got information before they left their hideouts and we were able to surround them," said a police spokesman. "Thirteen of the dead bodies lie in the street near the chairman's house."
Residents said the al Shabaab fighters wore black scarves round their heads with Arabic script reading "God is great."

Somalis are traditionally moderate Muslims, and analysts say al Shabaab -- which Washington has listed as a foreign terrorist organization with close links to al Qaeda -- does not have deep popular support, despite having the upper hand militarily.

Somalia has been without effective central government since the 1991 toppling of a military dictator by warlords.

The capture of the Sirius Star has caused panic around the world, with the rampant piracy threatening to become a further drag on trade at a time of global economic downturn.

Kenya's Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula summoned foreign ambassadors in Nairobi to appeal for their countries to make all efforts to end the menace. "Act now and not tomorrow," he said.

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I understand the implications for Somalia, and for the world if the more extremist Muslim factions take control, but - for any Somali who happens to read this - why should I give a flying rats ass what happens to you murderous bunch of useless pieces of shit.

American soldiers were in Somalia to help feed your moderate Muslim population. We were there to save lives, and instead, the lunatic population of Mogadishu attacked and killed Americans, who were just trying to help you.

Here is one possible option - we let the Islamists kill as many of you as possible, then we come and kill them. Why is that not a reasonable response to the events involved in the attacks on the American soldiers. Why should we care (appreciating the first sentence above)? If I cannot be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, it is unlikely you will get 60% of the population supporting any action against the Islamists.

Would not our going back into Somalis be an attack on Islam? And would all the lunatic fringes not climb back out of their piles of shit to attack and kill us? So why care. Let the Islamists take Somalia back fifty years economically and 150 years politically. Would serve you right, for what you have brought upon yourself.

If it were not for the innocent who would die in the process, I would ignore events in Somalia.





al qaida