ISLAMISTS REGAINING SOMALIA

Somalia’s Islamic Courts fighters have grown more powerful in recent months, regaining control of at least one-third of the war-ravaged country thanks to sophisticated attacks and unified ranks in the face of a weak government, Somali experts said on December 3.

“The Islamic Courts fighters are controlling some 30 per cent of Somalia,” Mohammad Al-Amin Al-Sheikh, a Somali expert in strategic affairs, was reported as saying on December 3.

“They have now tightened their grip on the southern provinces,” he added, referring to the strategic provinces of Shabele Dhexe, Juba Dhexe, Juba Hoose, Hiraan and Galguduud. Al-Sheikh said anti-government tribal groups are virtually controlling 40 per cent of the Horn of Africa country, while 25 per cent enjoy de facto independence like Somaliland. “This leaves the government in control of a meagre 5 per cent of Somalia, chiefly the main cities,” he noted.

Backed by the United States, the Ethiopian army intervened in December last in the Somali conflict to help the weak interim government oust the Islamic Courts, which managed to briefly restore unprecedented order and stability on most of the Somali territories after more than 15 years of unrest.

The Islamist fighters are more sophisticated and unified than the weak government troops, according to experts. “The Islamist fighters outnumber the government troops, which are less experienced,” said Abu Bakr Al-Badri, a Somali journalist and political analyst.

There are some 6,400 Islamic Courts fighters including 4,000 in the capital Mogadishu, 1,500 in the south and 900 in the two provinces of Hiraan and Galguduud, according to Al-Sheikh. “The government has 4,000 soldiers, but they are unable to match the powerful Islamic Courts because they lack a clear fighting strategy,” said Al-Sheikh.