Stepped-up attacks by Somali militants are challenging the new president's campaign promises to bring peace and order to this war-torn country.President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's plan involved more public relations than firepower: erode the popular base of the country's extremist Islamist insurgency and win over other, influential warlords.But in recent weeks, Al Shabab, a loose collection of Islamist militants including hardened insurgents, disaffected youth and other extremists, has intensified its assaults.On Wednesday, nine people died after insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace in Mogadishu. The mortars missed their target and fell instead on a residential area.The violence underscores the difficult task for Mr. Ahmed, who took office in January.Somalia has long been a tangle of shifting alliances. President Ahmed was once part of a government that declared jihad on its neighbor, Ethiopia.Now, he is positioning himself as a moderate working for peace.During his first few months in office, Mr. Ahmed pressed warlords -- many weary of fighting -- to support the administration. His government and the United Nations say he is making progress there.The government's broader strategy has been to weaken Al Shabab by providing opportunities for education and jobs to young men who might otherwise, in the words of a government spokesman, be enlisted by insurgents for "seventy dollars and a mobile phone."Those plans are on hold, however, amid strife in Mogadishu. In recent weeks, Al Shabab and another militant group, Hisb-ul-Islam, banded together to overturn the government, clashing with Somali forces in a fresh push toward Mogadishu.The fighting has prompted more than 45,000 Somalis to flee the capital, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.So far, Somali and African Union forces have managed to keep the insurgents at bay, holding significant portions of Mogadishu under government control...more..http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124346144044959953.html
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Somali Insurgency Grows, Roiling President's Peace Effor
Stepped-up attacks by Somali militants are challenging the new president's campaign promises to bring peace and order to this war-torn country.President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's plan involved more public relations than firepower: erode the popular base of the country's extremist Islamist insurgency and win over other, influential warlords.But in recent weeks, Al Shabab, a loose collection of Islamist militants including hardened insurgents, disaffected youth and other extremists, has intensified its assaults.On Wednesday, nine people died after insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace in Mogadishu. The mortars missed their target and fell instead on a residential area.The violence underscores the difficult task for Mr. Ahmed, who took office in January.Somalia has long been a tangle of shifting alliances. President Ahmed was once part of a government that declared jihad on its neighbor, Ethiopia.Now, he is positioning himself as a moderate working for peace.During his first few months in office, Mr. Ahmed pressed warlords -- many weary of fighting -- to support the administration. His government and the United Nations say he is making progress there.The government's broader strategy has been to weaken Al Shabab by providing opportunities for education and jobs to young men who might otherwise, in the words of a government spokesman, be enlisted by insurgents for "seventy dollars and a mobile phone."Those plans are on hold, however, amid strife in Mogadishu. In recent weeks, Al Shabab and another militant group, Hisb-ul-Islam, banded together to overturn the government, clashing with Somali forces in a fresh push toward Mogadishu.The fighting has prompted more than 45,000 Somalis to flee the capital, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.So far, Somali and African Union forces have managed to keep the insurgents at bay, holding significant portions of Mogadishu under government control...more..http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124346144044959953.html
No comments:
Post a Comment