Somalia inches towards war

[uppityperson]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1826925,00.html

Somalia was edging closer to full-scale war last night as Ethiopian troops moved into a second Somali town, potentially bringing them into conflict with an Islamic militia that has taken over the capital, Mogadishu, and is seeking to spread its influence over the rest of the country.

Eyewitnesses in Waajid said that about 200 Ethiopian troops had taken over the airstrip in the town yesterday morning. That follows moves last Thursday which saw Ethiopian troops take up positions in the town of Baidoa to back up Somalia's beleaguered interim government, which is based there.

The move of fresh Ethiopian troops into the anarchic country raises the prospect of renewed war in Somalia. Ethiopia strongly backs the UN-supported government of President Abdullahi Yusuf and has vowed to prevent the country from slipping into the hands of Islamic extremists. However, Yusuf's writ does not extend much beyond Baidoa's borders while the Union of Islamic Courts has achieved startling military success in recent weeks. The UIC militia now controls Mogadishu and other areas of the country after defeating several local warlords who have held Somalia in the grip of terror since the collapse of central rule in 1991.

The new Ethiopian incursion immediately triggered the breakdown of peace talks in Sudan as the UIC walked out of negotiations with the government when reports of the move began to filter through. That puts under threat a tentative ceasefire between the UIC and the government and raises the prospect of a full-scale war between the two. That would be a disaster for ordinary Somalis already weary of long years of war....(more@link)

[Kagemusha]

1. Propaganda aside, what value is this airstrip I wonder?

Why are they seizing it?

[struggle4progress]

2. 682 executed in Somalia (July 22 05 - July 20 2006)

23/07/2006 21:59 - (SA)

Mogadishu - Unknown gunmen have killed 682 civilians - including a foreign journalist - in executions over the past year in Somalia, a local human rights group said in a report on Sunday.

The killings took place largely in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Some were for unknown reasons, others due to clan differences, said the report by the Dr Ismael Jumale Human Rights Centre.

Included in the reports of 682 killings is the slaying of Swedish journalist Martin Adler as he filmed a protest in Mogadishu in June ...

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1972100,00.html

[Redstone]

3. When has Somalia ever edged AWAY from war?

Redstone

[jbane]

4. if you win a war against Somalia, what to you win?

A pile of rubble. a bunch of armed goons with an endless supply of weapons and whatever that poor man's methamphetamine that they
chew all day. I hope we sit this one out.