|
Militia vow to make Somalia Islamic state
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamic militia vowed to turn Somalia into a religious state on Tuesday, pushing north to take more territory after winning a three-month battle for Mogadishu. But thousands of Mogadishu residents protested against the takeover and defeated warlords said they would fight back. Clan elders warned the Islamic side against more advances.Fighters loyal to sharia courts seized the lawless capital on Monday from a self-styled anti-terrorism coalition of warlords widely believed to be backed by Washington. "Until we get the Islamic state, we will continue with the Islamic struggle in Somalia," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, chairman of Mogadishu Islamic courts, told a rally of hundreds. "This is a long Islamic struggle and it will continue until the whole country comes under sharia law," Fuad Ahmed, a militiaman loyal to the Islamic side, told Reuters. "We are ready to shed our blood in order for that struggle to succeed." Posted by: Steve 2006-06-06 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=155160 |