Somalia: Mogadishu Is Burning

Islamist's airports bombed by Ethiopian planes. The airports are bombed because of "unauthorised flights" being observed there. There are heavy artillery duels in south and central Somalia and thousands of civilians are on the run.


Photo: AFP

There's also an atsnn thread covering this:

Islamists At War With Ethiopia (by RedGolem)

Somalia pro government and Ethiopian troops are advancing 30 km from Mogadishu, and plans to besiege the Capital

Reuters

Breaking:

Islamists withdraw from Mogadishu!

Dang this war seems to be moving along fairly quickly. Islamists retreating? What happened for the bloody Jihad they promised? Maybe they have a trick up their sleeve. Good for them to not invade just yet - it'd probably be 1993 all over again, cept for the Ethiopians.

Any word as to what tactics the Ethiopians are using? Shock and Awe or Decimation? If it's the latter then '93 may be a thing of the past. The gloves may have come off so to speak...

Well, the governments troops( reports says "thousands") are advancing very quickly( have entered the city). Sources say that roadblocks leading to Mogadishu Airport are abandoned and guards have changed their outfit into civilian clothing.

Perhaps they are running... or perhaps they are preparing for guerillla warfare. My guess is option nr. 2

Source (Danish)

[edit on 28-12-2006 by WindWalker]

The Islamists have retreated to their last remaining stronghold, Kismayo...


Image: bbc


Other Links:
BBC: Somali Islamists battle advance
AFP: Somali Islamists retreat towards final stronghold
News24.com: New fighting in Somalia
News24.com: Somalis flee as showdown looms
IOL: Ethiopian troops head for Islamist outpost
AllAfrica.com: Prime Minister Says His Government Will Collect Weapons in Hands of People
CNN: Somalia says Islamists protecting al Qaeda suspects
The Washington Post: Further Combat Looms in Somalia

The Islamists abandon Kismayo!

Islamists are fleeing towards the Kenian border. Somali interim prime minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has offered a safe return for those fighters that give up their arms. He's allso demanding everyone in Mogadishu to hand out their weapons to the government, or they will be taken by force.

Latest addition to the merry fellows playing around Somalia: US Navy, they've started to patrol the somalian coast in order to stop islamists from fleeing by the sea.

Here's a "supposedly" secret document that may clarify how the ICU came to power in Somalia. Shiikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (the head of the shura council of the Islamic Courts Union of Somalia) is said to have written or signed this document November 09, 2005.

III. Plots to mar the existing relationship between the TFG, Puntland, Somaliland and Ethiopia have to be employed.

IV. Penetration into the armed forces of Puntland and Somaliland has to be made and clan used as an instrument to unfasten the cohesion.

V. The heavy and the light weapons used by Puntland and Somaliland armed forces have to be purchased with hard currency in secret deals.

VI. If that fails, the custodian of the heavy weapons should be approached with an offer.

VII. Cooperation has to be made with criminals and hard currency provided as motivations to assassinate the officials of the administrations (TFG, Somaliland & Puntland).

IX. Religious lectures indirectly influencing the public should be put in full gear.

XIX. Whosoever leaks this information and is found guilty should be shot.

29/12/06: Inside Somalia and the Union of Islamic Courts

The tactics sound familiar somehow.

Shameless plug

Besides that though, Mogadishu has not yet begun to burn. Why would such a small force try to fall back anywhere to make a stand when the Ethiopians said they weren't going to enter the city, but were going to hold out for a surrender?

Running for the Kenyan border (which was shut, reinforced, and even had a handful of US Marines on it) was monumentally stupid. You're running right into a hammer and anvil situation. And it was only a few hundred guys too.

My guess, it was a diversion or a stall tactic. They felt like if they could keep the Ethiopians from massing around Mogadishu they'd have a better chance at staving off a consolidation of Ethiopian control for a week or two in hopes of the Arab League members within the AU doing something to make the resolution a little less painful, or setting themselves up for an insurgency, or who knows what else they might pull out of their sleeves. Considering that there are like 11 sides to the conflict in Somalia, there's always a pretty good chance that somebody wants to fight with you, and being spread out over half the country is not exactly the best thing for Ethiopia, although so far it seems that nothing bad is happening to them for it.

Now that it's pretty clear that the US is willing to devote heavy firepower to it (Nothing like AC-130s and a carrier strike group to make everyone in the room shut up and listen to you), we can expect real estate prices in Mogadishu to plummet at the first sign of a UIC insurgency. We do not typically share Ethiopia's respect for war-weary civilian populations.

There are major battles in Mogadishu. Lots of people have been killed. Civilians seeking refuge in a mosque were killed as well, when it was hit by a mortar shell.

Sorry to be sounding so mean BUT let the rat hole burn. the UN went there in the 90s and tried to help them, tried to feed them and when Adid and his thugs was caught taking all the food to feed his band of punks, we went after him.
So then what happened? As we undertook a plan to catch Adid and his top guys, the entire town of Mogadishu turned against us. The ultimate case of biting the hand that "tried" to feed you.

Originally posted by HellmuttI guess somebody also got stinking rich from supplying the weapons used in this conflict. They are laughing all the way to the bank while innocent people are getting killed and the cities are burning.

Regardless of who your "somebody" is, nothing can be sold to anyone who doesn't want to, or can't buy whatever it is being sold.

An Ethiopian Mi-24 gunship was shot down by a missile in Mogadishu.


Photo: AFP/Mustafa Abdi

reply to post by Hellmutt


There's an update regarding the Mogadishu "mystery jet" here in another thread. It travelled from Baghdad via Sharjah to Oman, and then proceeded to Mogadishu.


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There are fresh fights in Mogadishu right now!

BBC: Mogadishu hit by fresh fighting