Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) – The situation is uncertain in Somalia, where fighting between government forces and the militia of the Shebab (“the boys”) extremists has intensified. Today, May 20, the rebels attacked a African peacekeeping forces' base in the capital city of Mogadishu, leading to at least 3 civilian deaths.
It remains uncertain whether Ethiopian troops are working on the side of the transitional government. In spite of denials from the Ethiopian government, word continues to reach the international press of movement of Ethiopian troops inside Somalia, at some twenty kilometers from the border with Ethiopia. The low profile taken by the government in Addis Abeba is explained by the fact that a massive intervention of Ethiopian soldiers in support of the Mogadishu government would be a heavy blow in terms of propaganda for fundamentalist soldiers.
In late 2006, the Somalian Army entered Mogadishu and overturned the administration of the Islamic Courts. A transitional government was established in its place, being recognized by the international community. The Courts and the various militant groups then began a bloody insurrection that led to a change of the transitional government, now presided by a member of the moderate wing of the Islamic Courts, and to the retreat of the Ethiopian troops. The Somalian Parliament had elected a new President at the beginning of the year, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a former member of the Islamic Courts' militia, who had signed a peace accord with the previous administration.
The return of the Ethiopian troops is a sign of the serious situation in which the forces of the transitional government find themselves. The extremists are now in the capital and have been reinforced by the defection of at least two groups of government troops who have joined their side.
Ethiopia worries that the Somalian extremist soldiers have links to Ethiopian rebels of Somalian ethnic background, operating in an area rich in oil.
Somalia, which has been without a stable government since 1990, has been at the center of international attention, especially because of the attacks carried out by Somalian pirates from Puntland, a region that declared its independence some time ago and that is also at risk for falling into chaos. According to members of the local administration, the pirates that have accumulated a noteworthy lot from the hijacking of boats, could become “war lords” and create extremist organizations that could ultimately destabilize the martyred land of Somalia. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 20/05/2009)
