Islamists may seize Somali govt
2006-07-20 08:41
Mogadishu - A top official in Somalia's Islamic militia said his forces would soon seize the base of the country's weak interim government, a move that would give radical militants uncontested authority over much of the country.
Officials said the government, which was internationally recognised, but wielded no real power outside its base in Baidoa, was on high alert.
Deputy prime minister Ismail Hurreh said: "The Islamic Court, the ideology they are espousing is a very dangerous ideology - they think they have the right to achieve things through violence, and that is dangerous."
The Supreme Islamic Courts Council militia seized Mogadishu last month and installed strict religious courts, sparking fears of a Taliban-style regime.
Islamic fighters seized Bur Haqaba
The United States had accused the militia of links to al-Qaeda that included sheltering suspects in the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Witnesses said on Wednesday that more than 200 Islamic fighters seized the town of Bur Haqaba and were continuing toward Baidoa, 60km away.
The military movement came one day after the government started recruiting its own soldiers in central Somalia.
Sheik Muqtar Robow, deputy defence chief for the Islamic group, said: "Nothing will stop us from going into Baidoa."
He gave no timetable for an attack, but said more than 130 fighters who were loyal to President Abdullahi Yusuf had defected to the Islamists' side.
Robow said: "I call on remnants of Yusuf's clan forces to leave Baidoa peacefully. Anyone who wants to leave will not be harmed."
People 'to implement Islamic law'
Another Islamic official denied that fighters were planning to seize Baidoa, offering a different explanation for why the Islamists were spotted on the outskirts of the government seat.
Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, head of the local militia that seized control of Bur Haqaba, said: "Our aim of going to the region is to convince people in the region to implement Islamic law and establish Islamic courts."
Robow later travelled to the capital, accompanied by the government fighters who had defected.
Wednesday's developments placed in serious doubt the resumption of the peace talks scheduled to begin on Saturday in Khartoum, Sudan, a month after the two sides agreed to stop all military action.
The government agreed to resume talks under pressure from foreign governments that were pushing for a unified administration in Somalia.
Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Centre in St Paul, Minnesota, said: "This is a provocation by the Islamic courts and a serious violation of the Khartoum agreement.
"The fact is that the government is weak and can't defend itself and we call for the dialogue to continue."
- AP