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| Africa Horn |
| Somalia is the latest battleground between US and al-Qaeda |
| 2006-04-05 |
| Somalia's worst fighting in years suggests the failed Horn of Africa state may become a new proxy battleground for Islamist militants and the United States. Washington sees Somalia as a terrorist haven and backs the warlords in Mogadishu, which may have galvanised the Islamists against them both, analysts say. A battle in March pitted warlords calling themselves the Anti-Terrorism Coalition against Islamic fighters backed by the influential Islamic courts. As many as 90 people were killed in the fighting. A widely held perception that the United States backs the warlords with weapons, money and surveillance prompted Islamist hardliners to start a fight that killed 37 people in February, hours after the coalition announced its presence. What has many worried is that these two battles were seen as a fight between the United States and Islam. The U.S. backing for the warlords has, in fact, strengthened the position of the Islamists and "helped extreme elements to get the Somali public behind them," an official involved with Somalia told Reuters. While the Islamic courts are not viewed as extremists, they and their supporters are seen as sympathetic to al Qaeda and foreign fighters who operate in Somalia, the official said. Others say the Islamic courts, whose leaders have blamed the United States for supporting warlords, want to fight any attempt to create a government that would undermine their authority. Complicating things is what many say are some dissenting voices in the U.S. government over what the priority in Somalia should be: Washington's counter-terrorism agenda or diplomatic efforts to help its riven interim government succeed. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 Somalia is the latest battle ground between US and Al-Qaeda And the loser has to keep Somalia? |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2006-04-05 12:55 |
| #1 Sometimes, to save a village you have to destroy it. |
| Posted by: Slealing Spunter7084 2006-04-05 10:07 |