A top Islamic militia leader yesterday sought support from Somali elders for the introduction of Sharia law and the expulsion of US-backed warlords from their last strongholds in the country, officials said.
The leader of the Joint Islamic Courts, Sheihk Shariff Sheikh Ahmed, held closed-door talks with traditional elders in Jowhar, about 90km north of Mogadishu.
"Our first priority is to establish an Islamic administration [and] make sure that the towns under our control are safe before spreading our control to other areas," Islamic militia commander Sheikh Hassan Warsame said.
As the talks started, Islamic militiamen set about bolstering security in Jowhar, from where they routed the US-backed warlords on Wednesday.
Yesterday's development came a day after the Somali parliament, fearing an attack on its temporary seat in Baidoa, about 250km northwest of the capital Mogadishu, approved the deployment of African Union peacekeepers in the country.
That move deepened its rift with the Islamic militia, whose fighters have vowed to kill foreign troops entering Somalia.
The Islamists, who have taken control of nearly the whole of Mogadishu, fear such a deployment would enable regional rivals like Ethiopia to interfere in Somali affairs.
In the meantime, the African Union is pressing the UN to modify its 1992 arms embargo on Somalia, to allow for the deployment of peacekeepers carrying weapons.
Security and a semblance of normal life appeared to be returning to Jowhar yesterday. The Islamic militia imposed an overnight curfew and began enforcing a "no-gun rule." The whereabouts of the ousted warlords was unclear.
"The courts militia are more interested in who is going in and out of Jowhar and are targeting people who are carrying weapons," said Hussein Ali, a trader.
As night faded into day, Islamic pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns rumbled through the streets, market stalls reopened, and fuel sellers, money changers and other small-time traders were back in business, albeit sluggishly.
"We have no problem with the Islamic courts because they are imposing the rule of Allah. A person who is guided by the constitution of Allah -- the Koran -- makes no mistakes," said Sheikh Ahmed Muhamoud, a Islamic teacher in Jowhar.
Rifle-toting Islamic militiamen patrolling the streets were amiable to passers-by and city dwellers.
"I saw Islamic fighters at the corners of the street. They looked confident and greeted me," said one elderly man, named as Abdullahii Mohamed.
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