MOGADISHU - Witnesses say Islamic militants are taking over police stations in the Somali capital as Ethiopian troops pull out.Ethiopia has been propping up Somalia’s weak government for two years, but vowed to leave by the end of 2008. Officials have since declined to give an exact date because of fears the departure will allow Islamic insurgents to take even more control of the lawless country.The thousands of Ethiopian troops are being pulled out in stages.
Abdirahim Issa Adow, a spokesman for one wing of the insurgency, said on Saturday he was deploying troops to three police stations to ensure the capital, Mogadishu, does not erupt in violence. His group is not allied to al-Shabab, the most powerful insurgent group. more.. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Jan03/0,4670,AFSomalia,00.html
Insurgents undertake power grab
Fighters seize police stations in Somali capital
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA — Islamic insurgents appeared to be scrambling for power Saturday, taking over several police stations in the capital as Ethiopian troops who have been propping up the government began to pull out, witnesses said.Many fear the Ethiopian pullout — and last month's resignation of Somalia's president — will cause Islamic militant groups to fight among themselves for power, bringing even more chaos to this beleaguered Horn of Africa nation."We have to show commitment to do our part in security, we want to help people feel secure," Abdirahim Issa Adow, a spokesman for one wing of the insurgency, told The Associated Press after deploying troops to three of Mogadishu's 14 police stations.His Union of Islamic Courts is not allied to the most powerful insurgent group, al-Shabab, which has taken over most of Somalia.The United States accuses al-Shabab of harboring the al-Qaida-linked terrorists who blew up the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Many of the insurgency's senior figures are Islamic radicals; some are on the State Department's list of wanted terrorists.Ethiopia has been propping up Somalia's weak government for two years but vowed to leave by the end of 2008. Officials have since declined to give an exact date amid concerns of a power vacuum, so the thousands of Ethiopian troops are being pulled out in stages...more.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/6193000.html
Abdirahim Issa Adow, a spokesman for one wing of the insurgency, said on Saturday he was deploying troops to three police stations to ensure the capital, Mogadishu, does not erupt in violence. His group is not allied to al-Shabab, the most powerful insurgent group. more.. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Jan03/0,4670,AFSomalia,00.html
Insurgents undertake power grab
Fighters seize police stations in Somali capital
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA — Islamic insurgents appeared to be scrambling for power Saturday, taking over several police stations in the capital as Ethiopian troops who have been propping up the government began to pull out, witnesses said.Many fear the Ethiopian pullout — and last month's resignation of Somalia's president — will cause Islamic militant groups to fight among themselves for power, bringing even more chaos to this beleaguered Horn of Africa nation."We have to show commitment to do our part in security, we want to help people feel secure," Abdirahim Issa Adow, a spokesman for one wing of the insurgency, told The Associated Press after deploying troops to three of Mogadishu's 14 police stations.His Union of Islamic Courts is not allied to the most powerful insurgent group, al-Shabab, which has taken over most of Somalia.The United States accuses al-Shabab of harboring the al-Qaida-linked terrorists who blew up the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Many of the insurgency's senior figures are Islamic radicals; some are on the State Department's list of wanted terrorists.Ethiopia has been propping up Somalia's weak government for two years but vowed to leave by the end of 2008. Officials have since declined to give an exact date amid concerns of a power vacuum, so the thousands of Ethiopian troops are being pulled out in stages...more.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/6193000.html
British reporter freed in Somalia
Somali kidnappers have released a British journalist and his Spanish colleague, according to officials. The men, named by a news agency as writer Colin Freeman and photographer Jose Cendon, were seized on 26 November in the north-eastern Puntland region. more..http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7810345.stm
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