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Somali PM: Islamic fighters defeated
Two Canadians reportedly among 10 extremists captured in Kenya

The Associated Press

Updated: 8:35 a.m. ET Jan. 2, 2007

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia’s prime minister said Tuesday that rival Islamic fighters have been scattered and that he does not expect any more major fighting for control of the country.

Government forces, backed by Ethiopian troops, were pursuing the remnants of an Islamic militia that until two weeks ago controlled most of southern Somalia and threatened to drive out the internationally-backed government.

But Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said his rivals were scattered and that a group of them offered to surrender on Tuesday.

“We asked out troops to collect them and bring them back home,� he said, refusing to provide any details about how many fighters were involved or where they were.

The rest of “Islamists are scattered in the bush,� he said. “Maybe small fights can take place, but we are trying to destroy them.�

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament Tuesday that Ethiopia may withdraw its troops in Somalia within weeks.

He told lawmakers said his troops were not peacekeepers and it would be too costly to keep them in Somalia, calling on the international community to act quickly to send in peacekeepers to avoid a vacuum when Ethiopian troops withdraw.

“We have accomplished our mission. After this our area of focus will be withdrawing of our defense forces and continuing the ongoing anti-poverty struggle (in Ethiopia),� Zenawi said.

Stay 'for a few weeks'
“Of course when we do this it does not mean that we will abandon ... the Somali government and its people’s ongoing effort to stabilize peace in the country,� the prime minister said. “We will stay in Somalia for a few weeks, maybe for two weeks.�

Diplomats from the region were working to arrange the speedy deployment of African peacekeepers to help the interim government establish its authority in the country, which has known only anarchy for 15 years.

A three-day period also began Tuesday for Somalis to voluntarily surrender their arms to government-designated points. Ethiopian troops reported that at one such point in the capital, Mogadishu, no one had handed in any weapons in the morning.

As the last remaining stronghold of the Islamic group — the port of Kismayo — was overrun by government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and MiG fighter jets, the net began closing on suspected al-Qaida fighters believed to be sheltered by the hard-line group.

Defense Minister Col. Barre “Hirale� Aden Shire, speaking in Kismayo Tuesday, said young men who fought with the Islamic militants are “pardoned� and could join Somalia’s national army.

“You have heard a lot of times that the transitional government is weak,� Shire told thousands of Kismayo residents gathered at Freedom Park in the town’s center. “But I will confirm you that the national army are in control of all regions in the country — east, center and south.�



Kenya, U.S. ships on alert
Neighboring Kenya vowed to seal its frontier to prevent any extremists, now wedged between the sea and the border, from escaping following the 13-day military offensive.

Sea routes from southern Somalia were also being patrolled by the U.S. Navy, hunting three al-Qaida suspects believed to be among the Islamic group and wanted for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Anthony Kibuchi, the Kenyan provincial police commander on the border, said Monday that 10 foreigners were arrested Saturday when they tried to cross into Kenya.

“We are interrogating them and we will give more details about them as soon as possible,� he said.

Kibuchi refused to provide further details, but local media reported that eight of the men said they were from Eritrea, while two said they were Canadian. According to a U.N. report, Eritrea sent 2,000 troops to support the Islamic movement, while there have been reports of Somalis with Canadian citizenship joining the Islamic militia.

The military advance was a stunning turnaround for Somalia’s government, which just weeks ago could barely control one town — its base of Baidoa — while the Council of Islamic Courts controlled the capital and much of southern Somalia.

But with the intervention of Ethiopia, which has one of Africa’s largest armies, the Islamic group has been forced from Mogadishu and other key towns in the past 10 days. Its casualties run into the thousands, Ethiopia said.

Peacekeeping force sought
Diplomats want the international peacekeeping force to replace the muscle of Ethiopia, a largely Christian country long despised in Muslim Somalia. Both countries have fought two wars, the last in 1977, and Somalia lays claim to territories in Ethiopia.

Uganda said it has a battalion of 1,000 troops ready to deploy in a few days. Nigeria has also promised troops, Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.

Somalia’s interim government and its Ethiopian allies have long accused Islamic militias of harboring al-Qaida, and the U.S. government has said the 1998 bombers have become leaders in the Islamic movement in Africa.

Islamic movement leaders deny having any links to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16437197/



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© 2007 MSNBC.com

I love the western media rolling news channels, they can take any bit of unproven hearsay and turn it into almost undisputable fact !


There are a lot of so called ‘radicals’ operating from out of so called ‘londonistan’, why doesn’t the united states bomb London ( actually best not give bush any ideas !)




Allot of the main stream media commentators don't speak of the fact that the so-called Islamist regime brought back some law and order to a country after decades of civil strife and war

Of course they were defeated. I predicted this would happen months ago! Some villagers tried to say that it would be just like Iraq, blah blah blah. As I predicted, all those Ethiopian soldiers had to do was brandish a weapon or wave a sandwich at those muslim terrorists and the fight was all over LOL!

This is what happens when you base your life on somebody else's so-called religion. You get all pumped up about it but have NOTHING to gain from that arab idiocy and so when the heat is turned up-you run. JUST LIKE EVERY AMERICAN OR BRITTISH MUSLIM ON HERE WOULD RUN LIKE HELL IF THEY HAD TO LIVE UNDER ISLAMIC LAW. This is what Afrika must do to all of the bullies, the rag-tag terrorists who are responsible for much of Afrika's suffering and misery. Stand up to them. Mohammed won't do a damn thing to help their Black behinds when the missiles come raining down.

HatHaruhotep wrote: The terrorists and bullies in somalia are the warlords.They commited the worst crimes in Somali history and made life hell for the people of southern somalia. So to quote your words they are responsible for "africas misery".Well you sat behind your compuer pretending to care about africans.The islamic courts where the ones with the support of the people that took the fight to the warlords. They cleaned up one of the most dangerous places in the world. Ethiopia and America actively supported the sick devil warlords who made a living out of raping and robbing somali woman and children.It wasthe islamic courts that opened the roads, removed roadblockks, openedthe airport and many other things.I do not supportall of theirideas, but they are sure not terrorists and i would chose them over the scumbag warlords you are cheering for anyday.How is that people like yourselves have suddenly come of the closet and pretend to care for somali people.It wasthe islamists that ran schools for children, ran hospitals and set upcharities.The warlords whoare accompaining the ethiopian troops, tell me is this democracy or pan africanism.Because i am confused how sick minded evil warlords can be cheered instead of being brought to an international tribunal?You hatred for muslims people clouds all your judgement and most of the bull you type is pure emotional hatred.So am gonna give you a little history lesson as to who are the people who have been terrorising somalia:

After the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, a system of sharia-based Islamic courts became the main judicial system, funded through fees paid by litigants. Over time the courts began to offer other services such as education and health care. The courts also acted as local police forces, being paid by local businesses to reduce crime

Is this terrorism?

However, as the courts began to assert themselves as the dispensers of justice they came into conflict with the secularwarlords who controlled most of the city. In reaction to the growing power of the ICU, a group of Mogadishu warlords formed the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT). This was a major change, as these warlords had been fighting each other for many years. By the beginning of 2006, these two groups had repeatedly clashed, and in May 2006 it escalated into street fighting in the capital, claiming the lives of more than 300 people. On 5 June2006, the ICU claimed that they were in control of Mogadishu.[7][/suP]

Or Perhaps this is suffering of african people and terrorism?



On July 15, 2006, the Islamic Courts opened Mogadishu international airport, which had been closed since the withdrawal of the international forces in 1995. The first airplane chartered by the Arab League flew from the airport for the first time in 11 years picking up Islamic Courts delegates to Sudanese capital Khartoum. [12][/suP]

Or maybe this was terrorism and inflicting suffering on african people?

On August 15, 2006, the UIC captured Haradhere, some 500km northeast of Mogadishu, which had become a safe haven for pirates, who had forced shipping firms and international organisations to pay large ransoms for the release of vessels and crews. [13][/suP]

Combating pirates is terrorism?

On August 25, 2006 the Islamic Courts reopened historical Mogadishu seaport, which was formerly one of the busiest in East Africa but had been shut down for 10 years.[14][/suP]

Or maybe opening the port is terrorism?Why where you when warlords where terrorising somali people?How comes you have suddenly come of the closet and are cheering for destruction in somalia? Why don't care about the suffering inflicted on us by the warlords by you are so concerned about the islamic courts?

By MARK MAZZETTI

New York Times
June 8, 2006

WASHINGTON, June 7 — A covert effort by the Central Intelligence Agency to finance Somali warlords has drawn sharp criticism from American government officials who say the campaign has thwarted counterterrorism efforts inside Somalia and empowered the same Islamic groups it was intended to marginalize.

The criticism was expressed privately by United States government officials with direct knowledge of the debate. And the comments flared even before the apparent victory this week by Islamist militias in the country dealt a sharp setback to American policy in the region and broke the warlords' hold on the capital, Mogadishu.

The officials said the C.I.A. effort, run from the agency's station in Nairobi, Kenya, had channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past year to secular warlords inside Somalia with the aim, among other things, of capturing or killing a handful of suspected members of Al Qaeda believed to be hiding there.

Officials say the decision to use warlords as proxies was born in part from fears of committing large numbers of American personnel to counterterrorism efforts in Somalia, a country that the United States hastily left in 1994 after attempts to capture the warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid and his aides ended in disaster and the death of 18 American troops.



Tell me is supporting warlords your idea of Pan Africanism or do you call this human rights or democracy.Please do not pretend you do not care about somali people.


so when the heat is turned up-you run.


[align=left]Quote:

The youth were gallant beyond belief; they threw themselves with gusto into the battle. They mowed down wave after wave of Ethiopian army with valor rarely equaled; in places like Mood Moode, Daynuuna, Idale, Bandiiradley…… They fought on nonstop. They fought on with little sleep. They fought on in spite of the shortages of food, fuel and reinforcement. But the Ethiopians kept coming. They came on foot, with tanks, with armored personal carriers, with heavy equipment and heavier mighty flying machines. The Somali youth stood their ground, volunteered advanced and martyred. Volunteered, advanced with Takbiir on their lips and martyred.[/align]
Is this terrorism or cowardice?The cowards are the one who hide behind aeroplanes and tanks. The cowards are the african christian fanatics who have always viewed somalia as another part of their christian kingdon, these are the cowards are the ones who bombed an innoncent woman in muqdisho on chrismas day:

quote:

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JILIB, Somalia Jan 2 (Garowe Online) - An unknown Somali gunman attacked a temporary military base for Ethiopian forces in the southern Somali town of Jilib late Monday, killing at least 2 Ethiopian soldiers and wounded others, witnesses confirmed.

The surprise attack came only days after Ethiopian troops, backing Somali government forces, overwhelme Islamic Courts militia in the Jubba regions of southern Somalia.

The Somali gunman, who is suspected to be an Islamist fighter, returned for a second round of gunbattles with Ethiopian soldiers, and critically wounded an Ethiopian military officer at the Jilib base.

Ethiopian soldiers and their Somali allies chased the gunman through town, killing him but wounding at least 2 Somali civilian bystanders during the case, according to witnesses.

Other unconfirmed reports indicated that the civilians might've died from the gunshot wounds.

Government and allied Ethiopian forces in the region have imposed a curfew on Jilib town to investigate the deadly incident.

Somalia’s retreated Islamist movement had sworn to wage a guerrilla campaign against Ethiopian troops on Somali soil before their departure from the Somali capital Mogadishu last week.

The deadly attack comes on a day Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian leader, told his parliament that Ethiopian forces would stay in Somalia for another 2 to 3 weeks.

Is this man a terrorist or a coward?