Tuesday, June 06, 2006
By Mohamed Ali Bile
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Islamic militia vowed to turn Somalia into a religious state on Tuesday, pushing north to take more territory after winning a three-month battle for Mogadishu.
But thousands of Mogadishu residents protested against the takeover and defeated warlords said they would fight back. Clan elders warned the Islamic side against more advances.
Fighters loyal to sharia courts seized the lawless capital on Monday from a self-styled anti-terrorism coalition of warlords widely believed to be backed by Washington.
Some 350 people, mostly civilians, have died since February in fierce fighting for the capital interspersed by tense lulls. The United Nations says about 1,500 civilians were wounded in the close-quarter battles using mortars and anti-aircraft guns.
It was the first time the warlords had been dislodged from Mogadishu since ousting former ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
“Until we get the Islamic state, we will continue with the Islamic struggle in Somalia,” Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, chairman of Mogadishu Islamic courts, told a rally of hundreds of people.
“This is a long Islamic struggle and it will continue until the whole country comes under sharia law,” Fuad Ahmed, a militiaman loyal to the Islamic side, told Reuters. “We are ready to shed our blood in order for that struggle to succeed.”
Supporters of the warlord coalition packed the shattered Benadir stadium in the north of the capital in a counter rally to protest against the Islamic victory.
Souce: Reuters, June 6, 2006
