American back Ethiopian Christian kafirs terrorists occupation
military Attack On Mosque Marks Intensification Of War In Somalia
19-05-2008
The US and Ethiopia, alarmed by the growing strength of the
"insurgents" backing the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), have stepped up their
military operations in recent months to maintain the faltering interim
government (IG) in office. Not only have they increased the number of
indiscriminate air-raids and missiles, but they have also extended the targets
to include crowded mosques. But they have succeeded only in provoking more
Somalis to harden their hostility to the IG and its backers, and for the first
time have even driven an international human-rights group (Amnesty
International) to accuse Ethiopia of war crimes. Amnesty's anger and the Somali
people's wrath were aroused by the Ethiopian troops' raid on a mosque in
Muqdisho (Mogadishu) on April 19 that left 21 people dead, including the
mosque's imam and some ulama'. .
Describing the slaughter as "extrajudicial killings", Amnesty said that the
attack on the mosque was launched when the Ethiopian troops were engaged in
heavy fighting against "Islamic insurgents". It accused Ethiopian troops of
slitting the throats of seven Somali men during the raid on the al-Hidya mosque,
of arresting 41 children there, and of detaining them at an Ethiopian military
base in the city. Eleven of the 21 who died in the attack, including the ulama',
were killed in the mosque, Amnesty added.
Amnesty insisted that its report was accurate, because it was based on many
interviews with eyewitnesses, including relatives of the dead, local
journalists, and individuals who had actually seen the bodies. However, the
Ethiopian government issued a statement on April 24, totally denying Amnesty's
report and claiming that in fact no such raid had taken place. "This is a
completely fabricated story, designed to blackmail the Ethiopian army, one of
the most disciplined forces anywhere in the world, and will damage the
reputation of Amnesty," the statement read. It also claimed that the report was
based on "a story circulated by Shabab", the group of ‘Islamist' young fighters
that constituted the UIC's initial fighting force.
The Ethiopian government's response to Amnesty's report is understandable,
though its explanation of what actually happened is absurd. Since human-rights
groups and aid-agencies normally ignore the "extra-judicial killings" and war
crimes committed by American and Ethiopian troops, and the UN envoy to Somalia
openly defends their presence there as ‘peacekeepers', Amnesty's report will
give greater publicity to the issue and put it in a totally different light. It
is true that Somalis and Ethiopians have always confronted each other as enemies
divided by Islam and Christianity, but the assault on the al-Hidya mosque will
be seen by Somalis – and other Muslims – as a declaration of religious war and a
deliberate humiliation of Muslims.
Not surprisingly, the war is taking a new turn, and is no longer be seen by many
Somalis as a confrontation between secular and radical Muslims, somewhat
complicated by clan-rivalries and the backing of foreign powers (the US and
Ethiopia) for the secular side. Both have tried to give the impression that they
are in Somalia to fight "terrorists tied to al-Qaeda, not Islamists". Only two
days after the attack on the al-Hidya mosque on April 19, Ethiopia broke off
diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorists in Somalia
and Ethiopia. The reference is to the UIC and Shabab al-Muslimeen in Somalia,
and to the political activists in the Ogaden, who are fighting for independence
from Ethiopian rule. Ethiopia accuses Qatar of spreading instability in the Horn
of Africa by its alleged support for terrorists.
But Ethiopia's explanation of its attacks on the mosque and its attempt to put
the blame on others, such as Qatar, have not impressed Somalia's people, and the
insurgency against its army and the IG have reached new heights since April 19.
The fresh fighting, for instance, has led to the deaths of 81 people in
Mogadishu, according to a report on April 20; 119 people were taken to hospital
for treatment. More towns were taken by the UIC, including Guda, on the southern
coast, and Dinsor, in the southern-central area. On April 26 the insurgents
raided the town of Johar to release prisoners. Seven people, including children,
died during the raid. According to analysts al-Shabab is behind the attacks,
which the government and its Ethiopian backers appear to be incapable of
halting. In fact they are so incapable that 40 aid-agencies are warning that
catastrophe will soon engulf Somalia. Their warning, however, appears to put the
blame on the "Islamist rebels" and absolve the IG and Ethiopian army.
A report in the Economist on April 19 on the insurgency was, however, more
impartial. Emphasising the IG's failure, the report said: "As an Islamist
insurgency continues, the government spends much of the scarce money it has on
the personal protection of president Abdullahi Yusuf, the prime minister Nur
Adde Hussein, and the defence and intelligence chiefs. The parliament in the
town of Baidoa, in the dusty interior, is empty; its members have drifted away."
However, the failure of the IG and its foreign backers is no consolation to the
Somali people, who are paying the price for the "insurgency". Only if the
Ethiopians and the Americans leave the country will there be a solution (though
it may take time) for the continued confrontation and violence.
By: M. A. Shaikh
Submitted by a Mujahid