|
|
Somalia: Islamist Militias Capture Two Towns
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Garowe Online (Garowe)
27 April 2008
Posted to the web 28 April 2008
Garowe
Militias loyal to Somalia's Islamist movement have captured two towns in the southern regions of Middle Shabelle and Bay, locals reported.
On Sunday, senior Islamic Courts officials publicly addressed a crowd in Jowhar, the provincial capital of Middle Shabelle region.
According to locals, the Islamist officials who addressed Jowhar residents included Sheikh Yusuf Turhume, who was the governor of Middle Shabelle in 2006 when the Islamic Courts militia controlled much of south-central Somalia.
The Islamist officials promised to Jowhar locals that they would take strong measures against criminals and establish a security force to patrol the city.
Abdirahim Isse Addow, the Islamic Courts' official spokesman, told the Jowhar crowd that a temporary administration will be set up to govern Middle Shabelle region under Islamic law.
Locals said the Middle Shabelle regional administration, appointed by the Somali government, had left the town the previous night before Islamist militias entered peacefully.
It is the third time Islamist fighters have seized control of Jowhar in a single month.
In Bay region, Islamist guerrillas entered the town of Qansah-Dheere, which is approximately 100km from Baidoa, where the country's parliament is based.
The Islamists did not meet any resistance in Qansah-Dheere. The town's mayor, Isaq Adan Shamsham, fled to Baidoa before the Islamist fighters entered the town, sources said.
It is the first time the rebel fighters have seized control of Qansah-Dheere.
|
In the neighboring region of Bakool, Islamist fighters have been in control of the town of Wajid for the past week.
Somalia's interim government, backed by thousands of Ethiopian troops, spends most of its resources attempting to control the capital Mogadishu.
But in recent weeks, Islamist guerrillas have expanded their insurgency to the countryside, where they have captured more than 10 towns.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Garowe Online. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
