Ethiopian army seen in Somalia
22/08/2006 19:06 - (SA)

Baidoa - Ethiopian troops have arrived in the central Somali town of Galkayo, said witnesses on Tuesday. However, Ethiopian officials denied their troops were in the country.

The troops entered Galkayo driving seven pick-ups trucks mounted with machine guns and six trucks loaded with boxes, said Ahmed Ali, a resident of the town.

It is the first time Ethiopian troops are reported to have entered central Somalia.

"Their arrival was not a secret," said local resident and businessman Ali Mohamed.

"They were seen inside the town in 13 vehicles. Some of them were even waving at us."

The troops were seen arriving about 16:00, said Mohamed.

The Islamic courts group, which now controls the capital Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia, has begun expanding its influence into central Somalia, taking over a handful of minor towns.

Ethiopia is a close ally of the weak UN-backed transitional government that the Islamic militants oppose.

'Islamic courts group unwelcome'

Foreign affairs spokesperson Solomon Abebe said: "No Ethiopian troops have crossed the border into Somalia."

The Islamic courts "wants to use Ethiopia as a disguise or pretext to further advance their own motives".

On Sunday, government-allied militia officials told The Associated Press that Ethiopian troops had arrived in the southern Somali town of Baidoa, where the weak UN-backed transitional government is based.

Residents of Galkayo earlier this month held demonstrations saying the Islamic courts group was unwelcome in their town.

Government-allied militias based in the central Somalia region have said they are willing to fight the Islamic militants.

Somalia does not have a national army or police, nor has it had an effective central government since warlords overthrew long-time dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, and then turned on each other plunging the country into a spiral of violence and chaos.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/...986797,00.html


Is this news at all out there? The fact that Islamic courts are taking power, and enforcing their strict laws is quite big here, of course!!!

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"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
"I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man. "
"I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself."
"If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness. "

Nelson Mandela

this is very necessary for peace in africa and ISLAM enforces peace by its strict laws

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http://www.nkusa.org/index.cfm
anti orthodox jews hate israel
www.ahmed-deedat.co.za/

I am very tolerant of religion, truly I am. But, with all due respect and in all honesty, we do not want or need this kind of 'peace'. Allready reports are comming of people being killed because of their choice in clothes (and this is Somalia, a very poor nation, I can't really see that there is much choices in clothes).

We need peace in some African countries, yes, but in a continent where there is already much ethnic and other problems, we do not need certain relgious groups enforcing there way of doing things.

And again, with all due respect, but the 'peace' that some persons f the Islamic faith is enforcing in Sudan, is horrific!

Please, do not misunderstand me, I am not blamng Islam as a faith, I am just saying I do not think this is a solution for that poor countries problems, I would have said the same if it was Christians preists doing it

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"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
"I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man. "
"I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself."
"If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness. "

Nelson Mandela

Muslims still deal in slave trading and the slaughtering of millions. It is a very evil religion. There are not 72 virgins awaiting fascist Muslims, there is only the pit of hell that awaits them.

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"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

Well, tens of thousands anyway, but true.

But how does that follow? Is Christianity an evil religion because Christians once engaged in witch hunts, Inquisitions and Crusades?

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Man up.

The operative word is "once." This isn't the 15th century, it is the 21st century. Slave trade continues today under Islam. And yes, hundreds of thousands of Africans have been murdered by Islamic fascists. Our church adopted a family of 17 refugees from Africa. It's not really a "family." One out of two members of the direct family were murdered, prior to even reaching safety in the US. So, we're left picking up the pieces and doing whatever we can for these displaced persons. And it ain't easy. Rick and Kay Warren of "mega church" Saddleback church have made significant inroads into countries under attack by Islamic fascist in Africa. But it's like sticking your finger in a leaking dike--it's far beyond the means of any one individual.

The Christian faith is all but a memory to those in the Northern Hemisphere. Not really, but if one looks at the numbers, that's pretty much the state of the Church. But in Southern Hemisphere nations, the Christian faith is in whole revival, reaching millions eager for the Gospel of Christ. Obviously, this includes Africa. You may have come across articles pertaining to the Anglican controversy over homosexuality. The divide is pretty much centered on geography--those in Southern Hemisphere nations adhering to the orthodox position on marriage, and many in Northern hemisphere nations not.

The future of the Church rests in Southern hemisphere nations. This is quite remarkable. Former "sending" (northern hemisphere) nations are now "receiving" nations. I for one believe our interests as a nation are every bit as tied with Africa as it is with Israel. Islamic fascists seek to conquer Africa, bringing with them slave trade and mass murder, every bit as much as they seek the whole destruction of Israel. It's far past time the US recognize our security is every bit as much tied with Africa as it is Israel.

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"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

So what? Are you saying Christianity was an evil religion in the 15th Century, but isn't now?

Is Christianity to be tarred by the evil actions of everyone who ever claimed to be a Christian? If not, why is Islam held to a different standard?

Blame the fundamentalist whackos who are committing the crimes. Blame the religion only if it is directly responsible for the crimes.

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Man up.

WHen the Islamic Courts Union marched into Mogadishu the USA should have launched a series of air strikes/cruise missile atatcks on every bit of significant force they could find of it.

It didn't..now the ICU is expanding and getting even more dug in.


The ICU is for all intents a Terrorist Organization with direct links to al Qaeda and is suspected right now of harboring suspect in previous al Qaeda attacks..specifically some of those involved in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

///


Overall...

The for all intents already existing nation state of Somaliland (declared independence in 1991-Northern Somalia.) should be recognized as an independent nation. Its stable and working..it has a government and all that.

Efforts should be made to give some sort of overt backing to the Somali Transitional Governmetn and get those of the Puntland(the horn region-a state that has never declasred itself independent but is pretty stable) involed as well.

But the ICU has to be stopped and dismembered before it turns Southern Somalia into something similar to Afghanistan under the Taliban. Those who oppose it need a little bit of aid to stop it.

By little I mean a small air campaign of very low risk to Allied pilots followed by overt arms and intelligence support to those forces aligned with the Puntland/STG types.

Barney, please note the difference between Islam and Islamism. In the first place, so-called Fundamentalist Islam, like so-called Fundamentalist Christianity, actually distorts the original religion's message. For example, the Koran simply requires that women be fully dressed (which wasn't always the case among pre-Islamic Arabs), but Islamic Fundamentalists have made women wear veils over their faces. Here is what the Koran actually states:

"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms..."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1219/p10s1-wogi.html

Islamism goes a step further. It is a political movement that attempts to enforce an already distorted form of Islam in a totalitarian way on every aspect of the lives of a nation's citizens. This would be comparable to the "Christian" Identity movement. Islamism is evil. Islam is essentially good.

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

I agree that the ICU bears watching, and watching closely. Too bad our troops are stuck in Iraq, because failed-state breeding grounds for terrorists are exactly the kind of place they're needed.

But it's not like the warlords we were backing were doing much good. We were not doing anything to help Somalia recover and rebuild; we were content to stand back and let it rot. Small wonder a force like the ICU -- which promises, if nothing else, an end to the fighting -- gained traction.

The time to intervene in Somalia was before the ICU got going. And the way to intervene was through aid and support for the recognized government. If it's turning into a full-blown emergency now, it's at least partly due to our ignoring it for so long.

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Man up.