Islamist insurgents attacked a military base and a police station in Mogadishu yesterday, leading to a two-hour gun battle. This kind of violence has been ongoing since Ethiopian troops drove the Islamic Courts Union out of power and re-instituted the nominal official government of Somalia.
More than 1,000 clan representatives from all over the fractious Horn of Africa country have been gathered in the restive capital since July 15 for a reconciliation conference sponsored by the interim government.
The meeting is being boycotted by the government's main Islamist foes, who are planning their own meeting in the Eritrean capital Asmara next month.
Notice that location for the alternative meeting. Once again, it looks suspiciously like Somalia is at least partially serving as a proxy battleground between Ethiopia and Eritrea -- not that Somalia needed the help to be a complete mess.
Comments (1)
On some level we have to choose-- stability and "Islamic" rule, or chaos and rule by one of our strongmen stand ins. Tough call.
Posted by Tim | August 10, 2007 06:03 PM
Posted on August 10, 2007 18:03