When Ethiopia sent troops into Somalia in December, I was disturbed that the US simply went along with Ethiopia’s invasion. The Ethiopians were supposedly there to restore the official government and bring order to the Islamist controlled Somalia. The Ethiopians and their superior military quickly gained control of the country and drove the Islamists from Mogadishu. Despite these military successes, Somalia has once again dissolved into disorder and rival warlords fighting for control. In today’s New York Times, Jeffrey Gettleman has an informative article about the fighting in Mogadishu. The situation in Somalia sounds awful:
Nearly every day, government forces and insurgents shell each other
across Mogadishu’s already dilapidated neighborhoods, scattering bodies
and any remaining traces of hope. Gun prices are soaring and more clans
are joining the underground, while an outbreak of cholera sweeps the
countryside.
And from the article, it sounds like the “transitional” government backed by Ethiopia, the U.S., and a few other Western states is to blame:
A common complaint is that the transitional government — transitional
being the operative word — is not working itself out of a job as
promised. Donor nations agreed to pay the salaries of Somali officials
with the understanding that those men and handful of women would
shepherd the country to democratic elections in 2009. But there has
been almost no progress toward setting up an election commission, let
alone taking a census. Many Somalis say they would be more inclined to
support, or at least tolerate, the transitional government if they
thought it was indeed transitional.
I’m not a fan of conservative Islamists, but it’s easy to understand why people in many Muslim countries support Islamist government. At least it’s safe to walk the streets.
Technorati Tags: horn-of-africa, somalia, mogadishu, islamist, ethiopia
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10 September 2007 at 4:14 pm
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