In the October 30th issue of The Weekly Standard, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross of the Counterterrorsim Blog and I have an article on the rise of the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia. The article is reprinted in full below. A New Terrorist Haven The frightening advance of Islamists in Somalia. by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross & Bill Roggio 10/30/2006, […]
Ethiopia Publicly Acknowledges having A Military Presence In Somalia
Diplomats meet in Kenya to push Somali peace talks
Somalia: Sheik Aweys denies he sent 30 Islamists to Somaliland
Canadian Somalis may be joining militias
Rumors abound over a possible coup against the transitional government. Clashes between Col. Hirale’s militia and the Islamic Courts are expected in Bu’ale. Talks between the ICU and former Somali military officers over fighting Ethiopia are ongoing. Islamic Courts supporter in Somaliland burned copies of a newpaper critical of the group.
The Islamic Courts have opened 4 “centers for jihad registration” in the Hiran region. The ICU shut down the “Mogadishu-based Bariga Afrika radio station… because the station ‘divides the community.’” Two carloads of the popular stimulant khat were burned near Kismayo.
Islamic Courts repulse an attack on Kismayo, continues to consolidate gains Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Sheik Yusuf Indohaadde during a news briefing, Saturday, June 17, 2006. AP photograph, click to view. Colonel Bare Hirale, the defense minister in the transitional government and leader of the Juba Valley Alliance, has made good on his pledge […]
The U.S. and Ethiopia are planning to interdict terrorists seeking a safe haven in Somalia. The Islamic Courts claim they haven’t threatened Ethiopia. The ICU is also “infuriated” by the UN withdrawal of foreign staff from southern and central Somalia.
Somali refugees in Kenya could reach 80,000
UN temporarily pulls international staff out of Somalia after threats
Local clerics in semi autonomous Somaliland demand Sharia law. Reporters sans Frontières states the Islamic Courts have imposed a “draconian charter” on the press in Mogadishu. Kenya has reinforced the border. The prime minister of Ethiopia has vowed to defend the country from the ICU.
Somalia: Hopes for the Somali Passport to Function in Emirates After Long Period of Ban
Somalia: Aid Agencies Ordered to Vacate Their Food Stockrooms in Mogadishu
Islamic Courts, Ethiopian troops dance in south central Somalia Somalia. Cities in red indicate ICU controlled territory. Click map to view. As the Islamic Courts Union presses forward with consolidating power in southern and central Somalia, the chance of a battle between the army of the Islamic Courts and Ethiopian troops currently in country has […]
Anti-Islamic demonstrations continue for the second day in Kismayo, as Colonel Bare Hirale vows to retake the port city. Clashes are imminent in the city the Islamist Court militia took without casualties two weeks ago. The Islamic Court’s laws and arrests, reminiscent of the Taliban’s legal system, are raising international concern.
Somali Islamic Military leader Aden Ayro has al Qaeda ties
Anti-Islamist Protest in Kismayo, Somalia
Kenya sounds warning note after Islamic militia move
The Islamic Courts army is now on the Kenyan border. The ICU commander of Hiran province has threatened Ethiopia with war if their troops enter the country. The ICU has officially established shariah courts in Mogadishu and appointed leaders.
“Islamists threaten Somaliland from within” – via the economy
Somalia: The Calm Before The Storm
Militia Advances Closer to Somalia Base
The Islamic Courts takes control of the town of Afmadow in the Lower Jubba region. Members of the Lower Juba Alliance threaten to retake the port city of Kismayo. Kenya is reconsidering its support of the transitional government. An alleged video of an ICU clreic being tortured in Somaliland leads to protests and threats from […]
The Islamic Courts withdraws from a town bordering Ethiopia as Ethiopian Army units move in. Ethiopian troops are deployed on the outskirts of Baidoa. The transitional government is receiving arms from Ethiopia. The provincial capital of the middle Juba region has been captured by the ICU.
Peace accord with ICU invald, says Somali government
Somali Islamists gaining ground
President Yusuf tells the defense minister to abandon all hope of recovering Kismayo and orders his militias to push to Baidoa. “A convoy of more than 156 [Ethiopian] war vehicles” is said to have arrived in Baidoa. Yusuf’s government still believes it can negotiate with the Islamic Courts Union. An interview with wanted terrorist and […]
The Islamic Courts continues its conquest of Somalia. The Lower Shabelle region and the towns of Kalaber and Jawil are now under the control of the ICU. Kenyan troops have been placed on high alert all along the Somali border.
NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai recommends expanding the Waziristan Accord to other tribal agencies, as the Taliban and al Qaeda continue to hit government targets Governor Ali Jan Orakzai in 2004, when he was a general in the Pakistani Army. Click picture to view. As we reported just two days after the signing of the […]