Could this be the next Afghanistan?
Dan S. BBC NEWS Somali warlords battle Islamists At least two more people have been killed on the fourth day of the heaviest fighting seen in the Somali capital for several years. Supporters of some of Mogadishu's militia leaders have clashed with an armed Islamist group which says it is trying to establish law and order. Their opponents say the Islamic courts are terrorising local people. At least 17 people have been killed since Saturday - mostly civilians hit by stray bullets. 'Scary' A witness told AFP news agency on Tuesday that two people had died and 15 were wounded in a clash in southern Mogadishu's Daynile district. "The place is full of blood and it is very scary," he said. Another witness told AP news agency that a woman was killed and two children injured when a mortar exploded near a milk factory. AP also reports further deaths in the city centre and that two more people have died of their wounds in hospital. Clashes between armed groups have been common in Somalia since former military leader Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. The country has been without a functioning government since then. Over the weekend, a group of MPs urged both sides to stop fighting. The fighting pits a new group, the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, against the Islamic courts' militia. But AP reports that gunmen from other groups have taken advantage of the fighting to go on a looting spree. Scholars killed The fighting has also led to the closure of the Daynile airport, used by many aid workers. Hundreds of families have fled their homes around the former military academy. The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says at least five warlords-cum-ministers in the transitional government are behind the new alliance, opposed to the Islamic courts. The courts have set up Mogadishu's only judicial system in parts of the capital but have been accused of links to al-Qaeda. Their critics accuse the courts of being behind the killing of moderate Muslim scholars. On 26 February, the country's parliament is due to meet for the first time on home soil since it was formed in Kenya more than a year ago. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4735614.stm Published: 2006/02/21 14:07:43 GMT C BBC MMVI [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
