Somali Islamists yesterday declared victory over a US-backed warlord alliance and prepared to take over Mogadishu after four months of bloody fighting for control of the lawless capital.
Having captured nearly all of Mogadishu and a key warlord supply line on its northern outskirts at the weekend, the Islamists said elders were formalizing the seizure in a meeting with remnants of the alliance.
In a statement read over local radio stations, the chairman of the city's Joint Islamic Courts, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said 15 years of warlord control of Mogadishu was over and urged residents to accept the new leadership.
"The Joint Islamic Courts are not interested in a continuation of hostilities and will fully implement peace and security after the change has been made by the victory of the people with the support of Allah," he said.
"The JIC will take care of the safety of the people and freedom of individuals and will eradicate any sort of hostilities brought about by inter-clan fighting," Ahmed said.
At least 347 people have been killed and more than 1,500 wounded, many of the civilians, in fierce battles between the Islamists and the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) since February.
The alliance was created that month with US support in a bid to curb the growing influence of Mogadishu's 11 Islamic courts and hunt down extremists, including al-Qaeda members they are accused of harboring.
The courts, which have repeatedly denied the charges, had declared a holy war against the ARCPT and denounced its funding by the US, which clerics assailed as an "enemy of Islam."
Washington never publicly confirmed or denied its support for the alliance but US officials have told the press they have given the warlords money and intelligence help to rein in "creeping Talibanization" in Somalia.
The Horn of Africa nation was plunged into anarchy with the 1991 ouster of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre and analysts have long warned it could become a hotbed for radical Islam along the lines of Afghanistan.
After railing against US support for the warlords at rallies in which US President George W. Bush was compared to a Nazi, Ahmed's victory declaration yesterday appeared to contain the hint of an olive branch to his foes.
"We are not against any group and will deal with the outside world in a manner that takes the interests of our country and people into account first," he said.
The announcement came as court representatives met with elders to discuss the handover of checkpoints, weapons and vehicles held by gunmen loyal to alliance members Musa Sudi Yalahow and Abdi Hassan Awale Qeydiid.
"The negotiations are progressing and by the will of Allah they will bring something by today or tomorrow that will mark the official end of violence," one senior Islamist official said.
A third warlord, Bashir Raghe Shirar, had yet to agree to the talks, the official said, and analysts caution that the Islamist seizure of Mogadishu could herald yet a new round of fighting.
It was not clear when the transfer would be complete.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese