Islamic Militias Advance in Somalia

In a disturbing sign that Somalia may be once again going down a dark path, Muslim militias spread their tendrils further into the southern portion of the country as secular militias (favored and supported by the U.S.) there suffered a major blow with the fall of a key stronghold at Jowhar. More than 300 Somalis have died in recent months as the Islamic militias in the country have engaged in a steady, pressing campaign to extend their control over the country and enforce sharia, or Islamic religious law, upon the population.

?Beginning from now, the sharia courts will be the only rule in this region, and the people of Jowhar should understand that,? said Sharif Ahmed of the Islamic Courts Union, an umbrella group for the Muslim militias. Baidoa, about 130 miles away from Jowhar, is serving as the base of operations for Somalia?s weak, U.N.-backed transitional government. The transitional government and its head, Abdullahi Yusuf, have called for foreign peacekeepers to stave off the Islamic militias taking over more and more of the country.

Somalia?s transitional government and traditional enemy Ethiopia have worked to repair relations and warm ties to prevent further hostilities between the two countries, and the Islamic militias fear that Ethiopia will be better able to ?meddle in the affairs? of Somalia so long as the current transitional government is in power. The Islamic militias, meanwhile, have stated that they will cut off all ties with the transitional government if Baidoa called for international troops to enter the country.

                                 

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