Awwww. Cry me a f'in river Their But for the Islamists left behind in Somalia's long-troubled capital, the ordeal is not over. While top Islamist officials escaped south toward Kenya last week, thousands of employees, fighters and other court supporters remain trapped in Mogadishu, struggling to comprehend the new reality.
In hiding
Once part of the city's new elite
Monday, weary Mogadishu residents tried to return to normalcy after a week of turmoil and a three-day Eid al-Adha holiday. Shops and offices reopened. People ventured out on the streets. Only a handful of soldiers were visible patrolling the congested roads or guarding government buildings. Ethiopian soldiers seen in public generally drew large crowds of Somali onlookers, who would stand together in groups and observe the soldiers from afar. Most of the city quickly has adapted to the fall of the Islamists, resuming activities once discouraged. Cinemas reopened. Children played soccer again on the beach. Vendors of khat, a leafy stimulant, resumed daily deliveries in the marketplace.
But supporters of the courts remained largely in the background. Some still defend the courts and predict resurgence of the once-powerful alliance of Islamists. But others insist they were misled and exploited by an organization that fell victim to infighting and greed. ``It was a black day for Somalia,'' said one mid-level court official, referring to when Islamist fighters abandoned Mogadishu on Thursday to advancing soldiers from Ethiopia and Somalia's transitional government. ``I'm still not sure what happened.'' He was too afraid to have his name or former position revealed.
Courts unravel
He said the courts began to split in recent weeks into two factions, one that wanted to pursue negotiations with the weak transitional government and another that was pushing for an attack on Baidoa, the temporary seat of the government. The latter group won out, only to find their fighters routed by Somali forces and more than 4,000 Ethiopian soldiers. Nevertheless, he said he had no inkling Wednesday that the movement he devoted his life to would collapse the next day. Co-workers phoned him that evening with rumors that his bosses had fled. It was not until he heard the radio the next morning that he realized the courts had disintegrated. ``I was just an employee,'' he said. ``They didn't invite us to go with them.''
"I never liked them. I only joined the Party for the social contacts."
Now he is scrambling to find another job to support his children and turning to his clan for protection. So far, he has not been threatened, but he fears it is only a matter of time. ``Right now, everyone is focused on the presence of Ethiopians,'' he said. ``That's taking the attention off the
| ``Right now, everyone is focused on the presence of Ethiopians,'' he said. ``That's taking the attention off the Islamic courts.'' |
Corrupted by power
Afrah Adan Gagale, 27, a former Islamist fighter, said the court's leadership was corrupted by power and its sudden success. The courts seized Mogadishu in June after a surprising victory over U.S.-backed warlords, bringing a degree of stability to a country that had been without an effective government since 1991. ``Their ambition was high, but they had no plan,'' Gagale said. He blamed the court militia's defeat on conflicting orders from superior officers, who first called for an attack and then a retreat. Many court supporters accused top security officer Yusuf Mohammed Siyad of mishandling the standoff. It was Siyad who issued the seven-day ultimatum for Ethiopian soldiers to leave the country and later publicly welcomed Islamists from around the world to come and fight in Somalia. Such rhetoric pushed Ethiopia to attack the Islamists on Christmas Eve. ``We could