ISLAMIC CONTROL SOUGHT ?

Islamists And Warlords Fight for Mogadishu

April 18, 2006

By Abdulkadir Khalif

Nairobi

A three-and-half year old girl, Aisha-Luul, last month became a victim of the latest fighting in Mogadishu. She sustained a serious injury after being shot in the arm by a stray bullet while standing outside of her family’s house at SOS sub- district in the city.

The fighting erupted in mid February when a new coalition calling itself the "anti-terrorist" group was formed to counter the growing influence of islamist groups in the city. Hardened warlords in the capital have reportedly established a partnership with some wealthy businessmen to challenge heavily armed religious leaders who are running a network of islamic Courts.

Although name calling is nothing new in Somalia, especially among the bitter political rivals, the new coalition of the warlords call their islamist foes "terrorists", while the Sheikhs call the warlords "demons." Many people are shocked by the intensity of the violent confrontations, but the events have a clear background.

When Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was formed in Kenya, a number of MPs-cum-ministers returned to Mogadishu confident that they had a mandate to rule the country. They vowed to tame armed militia, remove roadblocks from streets and establish an administration for the city. Nine months lapsed between April and December 2005 and the warlords achieved none of their three goals.

Demobilisation of militias, removal of roadblocks and establishment of an administration for the city have not materialised. In fact, they reached a dead end when the militias they assembled at two camps at the outskirts of Mogadishu left without notice. The dismantled roadblocks were occupied by other groups and the attempt to form a city council attracted officials who were unwilling to obey their masters.

The shocking reality is that the warlords found themselves face to face with the leaders of the islamic courts, an equally armed group with an even more hardline political agenda. The most dramatic showdown occurred in October last year when islamists began to forcibly close down various entertainment centres, often clashing with their owners.

Although it was during the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan, what was happening was like a rehearsal for what was likely to occur in the immediate future. Those running the entertainment centres were mainly supporters of the warlords. Their leaders, however, could not intervene, fearing confrontations.

The islamic courts strategically occupied every roadblock that was removed by the warlords. Even members of the city council were more inclined to listen to the instructions of the religious leaders than the warlords who masterminded the council’s formation. For the warlords, it amounted to one frustration after another, feeling that the 15 year soap opera of violence was being snatched from them.

When the main bodies of the TFG began moving to Baidoa in Southern Somalia following the announcement that the parliamentary sessions were going to be held there, the humiliated warlords opted not to leave the city at the mercy of the islamists. The best option for the warlords to teach the bearded men a lesson was to form a coalition and to accuse the islamic courts of being a terrorist hub. Furious islamists reacted by attacking the warlords, whom they called "demons," with guns and mortar shells.

The city soon degenerated into full scale violence in which hundreds of people died and many more were injured. While the coalition of warlords has admitted that they are part of the global war on terror with a mission to hunt down terrorists operating in Somalia, the Sheikhs have denied being part of al-Qaeda’s global terror network.

The islamists are claiming victory in their confrontation with the warlords, who are denying this and claiming even bigger victory for being able to link the islamic courts with al-Qaeda. At the end of the day, however, as the islamists and warlords battle for supremacy, the losers are innocent victims such as Aisha-Luul, who is too young to understand what the war that caused her a bullet wound is all about.