Posted on 05/10/2006 6:10:16 PM PDT by blam
Slaughter as gunmen fight to control Somalia's capital
By Mike Pflanz, East Africa Correspondent
(Filed: 11/05/2006)
Somalia's lawless capital Mogadishu was engulfed in violence yesterday as fighting between rival factions brought terror to civilians.
At least 14 people were killed in a fourth day of fighting between gunmen allied to conservative Islamic leaders and others loyal to a group of powerful businessmen.
The bloodshed took the death toll to 96 since Sunday, with an estimated 200 people wounded. Most of the dead and injured were civilians.
The two sides have used heavy machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades and artillery. A mortar round hit a hospital late on Tuesday, killing a 12-year-old boy.
Hardline Islamic clerics have set themselves up as an alternative to the city's established warlords, arguing that they are capable of bringing order and peace. But they have not hesitated to use force and have allegedly linked up with al-Qa'eda terrorists.
They are opposed by the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism. Its militia and those of the Islamic Court Union have been squaring off for weeks and staking out positions in preparation for a larger battle for control of the city.
The country has had no effective central government since 1991, when warlords ousted Mohamed Siad Barre, the long-time dictator, and then turned on each other, carving the nation into a patchwork of fiefdoms.
Mediators struggling to stem the bloodshed this week brokered a ceasefire that was supposed to be effective from Tuesday night but it was broken within hours.
Ali Mohamed Gedi, the prime minister, in his government's headquarters in Baidoa, 150 miles west of Mogadishu, called on all sides to stop fighting.
Despite UN support for his fledgling administration, it is powerless outside Baidoa.
Answer to the title:
Good. I will donate ammo.
Suggestion. Hire some professional security types. (YES Mechanaries) Give them 15% of what you would pay for UN Peace Keepers. Have them work with the recognized Govt to clean house. Problem solved
To both sides.
Criminals slaughtering Islamofascist criminals. Go at it.
I'd offer sympathy, but I'm fresh out.
'allied to conservative Islamic leaders '
Talk about a shmitzbrawl.
If someone could get some video of all this, it would make a great documentary on what a post-apocalyptic world would be like. Only problem is that the cameramen and cameras would have a very short life. This could also be a great place for small arms testing by the major arms manufacturers. We're talking real-life field testing here.
Nope. Ain't got a dawg in that fight.
Good place to field test nuke bunker busters. 3-4 per day for a week should about meet the research need I think.
thanks to the former Soviet Union for supplying all these boys with an ample supply of Soviet made weaponry and ammunition.
It's interesting to see the world's Libs and socialists avoid acknowledging that fact , but then they don't know a dern thing about guns anyway , do they?
I saw something real interesting on the Discovery channel the other day. It was called Metalstorm and theoretically it can fire 1 million rounds per minute.
Hehe. Check out this video.
It's called Vacation in Monrovia, but it might as well
be Mogadishu.
http://media.putfile.com/jump1664
I saw that...no moving parts either.
The reason I say theoretically is due to the fact that it would need some kind of reloading mechanism but it didn't appear that they were using one.
Interesting weapon anyway. If a round fails to fire, just fire the round behind it and drive the first one out.
Looter guy!!!!
Ever notice that the words "U.N. and "Powerless" often are in the same sentence?
Just a thought????
Here's a CNN piece on Metal storm.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/06/26/australia.metalstorm/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.