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H13756

Headlines : "War on Terror"

Summary:

Fresh fighting in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu between Ethiopian-backed interim government forces and remnants of the Islamic Courts Union have claimed over four hundred lives in the past four days. Following a weekend in which insurgents shot down an Ethiopian helicopter gunship and fired mortars at civilian and military installations in the capital, Ethiopia claims that its forces have killed two hundred enemy fighters – though many of the victims appear to be civilians caught in the crossfire. The narrow streets of Mogadishu provide a hellish environment for urban combat – as the United States can testify.

The lighting quick regime change facilitated last December by the American-backed Ethiopian army has been touted as a success in the “War on Terror.” Instead, it would appear that the Christian-led invasion has led to the rapid spread of fundamentalist Islamism in a (failed) state that has traditionally been moderately secular in character, despite its bloody, war-torn history.

For a more detailed analysis of the carnage in Somalia, click here.

[Posted By Heatscore]

By Salad Duhul
Republished from Associated Press via Houston Chronicle

Mogadishu descends back into chaos as the insurgency starts up in earnest

Fierce fighting between Ethiopian-backed government forces and Islamic insurgents in Somalia’s capital has killed nearly 400 people — mostly civilians — in the past four days, a Somali human rights group said Monday.

The fighting abated long enough Monday to allow thousands of people to flee the ruined coastal city on foot and in donkey carts, cars and trucks. Some 47,000 people — mainly women and children — have abandoned their homes in the last 10 days, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Since February, nearly 100,000 people have fled the violence, the agency said.

Monday’s lull appeared to follow a truce between Ethiopian forces and insurgents, brokered by the capital’s dominant clan. But Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle said the accord was “null and void,” and warned residents to go because the fighting could resume at any time to “clean al-Qaida elements from Mogadishu.”

Ethiopian troops were seen reinforcing close to insurgent strongholds in the southern part of the city. Around 4,000 Ethiopian troops are in Mogadishu, said Western diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information related to security matters.

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