Posted on 12/30/2006 5:46:10 AM PST by bd476
Somali Troops, Allies Prep for Showdown
Thousands of Somali and Ethiopian Troops Set Off for Final Showdown With Islamic Militia
By MOHAMED OLAD
The Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Thousands of Somali and Ethiopian troops set off Saturday for a showdown with Islamic forces who have regrouped at a southern seaport since abandoning the Somali capital two days ago.Some 3,000 Muslim militiamen have taken a stand in the Indian Ocean port city of Kismayo, and the U.S. government believes they may include four suspects in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
This map of Somalia showing the Southern Port City of Chisimayu (Kismayo) is from the CIA World FactBook.
Kismayo is about 100 miles from Kenya, and the Somali government and its Ethiopian allies hope to close the net before the al-Qaida suspects can slip out of the country.Several thousand Somali and Ethiopian troops were advancing on Kismayo Saturday from about 75 miles north of the city.
"We are going to advance from different directions to try and encircle the city and force the Islamic group to minimize the loss of civilians," government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told The Associated Press.
The Council of Islamic Courts, the umbrella group for the Islamic movement that ruled Mogadishu for six months, has pledged to continue its fight despite losing capital and other key towns in recent days.
"I want to tell you that the Islamic courts are still alive and ready to fight against the enemy of Allah," Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the group's leader, told residents in Kismayo on Saturday.
"We left Mogadishu in order to prevent bloodshed in the capital, but that does not mean we lost the holy war against our enemy," he added. The group wants to transform Somalia into a strict Islamic state.
The Islamic Courts movement had grown steadily in power for six months, until the dramatic entry into the war by Ethiopian troops last week. Ethiopian soldiers have swept quickly across the country since Sunday, retaking territory captured by the Islamic movement earlier this year.
Ethiopia is a close U.S. ally and capturing suspected al-Qaida terrorists is a major priority for the United States in the Horn of Africa.
The U.S. has a counterterrorism task force based in neighboring Djibouti and has been training Kenyan and Ethiopian forces how to protect their borders.
The Navy's Fifth Fleet also has a maritime task force patrolling in international waters off the Somali coast. The mission of both task forces is to capture or kill al-Qaida elements in the Horn of Africa and will act if given a clear opportunity.
Also Saturday, Somalia's president flew to the outskirts of Mogadishu aboard an Ethiopian military helicopter, as his government began its move to the battle-scarred city. President Abdullahi Yusuf met with key Somali elders in a bid to smooth the city's takeover. He also pledged to bring more troops to help secure the region.
Although his U.N.-backed government was established in 2004, it has never had control over Mogadishu or many other parts of the lawless country until Ethiopia stepped in. His transitional government has been forced to base itself in Baidoa, a dusty agricultural town 150 miles away.
Many in overwhelmingly Muslim Somalia are skeptical of the government's reliance on neighboring Ethiopia, a traditional rival with a large Christian population and one of Africa's largest armies. Ethiopia and Somalia fought a bloody war in 1977.
Yusuf said Ethiopian troops would stay in Somalia as "the government is not up to the level of taking back the entire country overnight." He vowed to pursue those still willing to fight for the Islamic group.
Associated Press writers Salad Duhul and Les Neuhaus in Mogadishu, Nasteex Dahir Farah in Kismayo and Elizabeth A. Kennedy in Baidoa contributed to this report.
This map of Ethiopia is from the CIA World FactBook.
This is a "Not sure if you already have this Ping."
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US! moment brought to you by the country of Ethiopia. Enjoy.
True. We also have our US Navy's Fifth Fleet in the general vicinity.
Bump
Yeah, your own blood. And it does too mean you lost, you sh!tty raghead.
The Somalis don't want the muslim religion of peace imposed on them either.
May God go with them as they wipe out the insurgent terrorists once and for all- time to clense the area of evil! http://sacredscoop.com
Thanks for the ping bd476.
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ON THE NET...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747324/posts?page=1579#1579
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1747324/posts?page=1580#1580
Islamic forces who have regrouped at a southern seaport......were heard to say, "they lied to us about the evacuation fleet!"
It looks to me as if the Ethiopian forces will drive the Islamists to the border where the Kenyans will have their shot at them too. They're likely to destroy Kismayo though.
Nice of them to line up with the sea at their backs. Does the Koran prevent these filthy goat-humping savages from learning how to swim? I hope so - sure would be nice if the Ethiopians gave them their first lessons.
Just spread the word that the Indian Ocean has alcohol in it, and they'll stop trying to swim away.
Seems to me that this isn't going to be ONLY a Moslem holiday from now on...
Up to 1,000 Islamists dead in Ethiopia offensive: Meles
Reuters | 12/26/2006 | Tsegaye Tadesse
Posted on 12/26/2006 8:57:49 AM EST by Hadean
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1758498/posts
Ethiopia: At least 2,000 militants killed in past few days
[militants = islamic terrorists]
AFP | Dec 28, 2006
Posted on 12/28/2006 10:42:48 PM EST by jdm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1759715/posts
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