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Somalia: Islamic forces quit
01/01/2007 11:07 - (SA)
Nasteex Dahir Farah
Kismayo - Islamic fighters abandoned the last major town they held early on Monday and were seen heading south toward the Kenyan border.
Government forces approached the town slowly because of land mines, said residents and a government spokesperson.
Businessman Sheik Musa Salad said hundreds of gunmen, who apparently deserted from the Islamic movement, began looting the warehouses where the Council of Islamic Courts had stored supplies, including weapons and ammunition.
Gangs skirmished in the streets and the city descended into chaos,.
Mutiny in Islamic ranks
"Everything is out of control, everyone has a gun and gangs are looting everything now that the Islamists have left," he said.
The Islamic forces began to disintegrate after a night of artillery attacks at the front line and following a mutiny within their ranks, said witnesses.
Government spokesperson Abdirahman Dinari said he had information that Islamic forces were moving south toward the Kenyan border.
"The Islamists have fled Kismayo and our troops are on the way," said Dinari.
On Sunday in Kismayo, an estimated 3 000 Islamic fighters were preparing for a bloody showdown, but Islamic fighter Rabi Ahmed said about 50 militiamen in the city were refusing to go to the front and fight.
Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said Islamic militants in Kismayo, Somalia's third-largest city, were sheltering alleged bombers Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and Abu Taha al-Sudani. The east African embassy bombings killed more than 250 people.
Islamic leaders had vowed to make a stand against Ethiopia, which has one of the largest armies in Africa, or to begin an Iraq-style guerrilla war.
Bombers root of the problem
Somalia's interim government and its Ethiopian allies have accused Islamic militias of harbouring al-Qaeda, and the US government has said the 1998 bombers have become leaders in the Islamic movement in Africa.
"We would like to capture or kill these guys at any cost," said Gedi. "They are the root of the problem."
In the past 10 days, the Islamic group has been forced from the capital, Mogadishu, and other key towns in the face of attacks led by Ethiopia.
- SAPA
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