Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
Abdinasir Mohamed Guled
1 July 2008
The Islamic Courts union spokesman says that their fighters took control of three important cities in central and southwestern Somalia.
The cities are (Huddur), Wajid, and Balad Weyn. This has been confirmed by residents of these cities and tribal officials.
The spokesman also said that the fighters of the Islamic Courts attacked the strategic city of Huddur in the southwestern part of the country with RPGs, targeting the headquarters of the Somali Government in the city.
He added that the attack also targeted the house of the governor of the Bakol region "who escaped miraculously on foot after he suffered medium wounds, while three of his guards were killed and five others were wounded."
Abd-al-Rahim Isa Adu, spokesman for the Courts, said that his forces have seized five combat vehicles, light weapons, and a late model four-wheel drive car, which he said belongs to Somali Parliament Speaker Adam Muhammad Nur Pointed to the killing of the civilians, whom he described as agents, and the release of six others who were wounded, including the governor of the city.
Eyewitnesses in the same city said that the Islamic Courts forces withdrew from Huddur City, two hours after taking it over, and headed for Wajid City, which they also seized yesterday afternoon without significant clashes.
Members of the Courts have held negotiations with tribal officials and representatives of the World Food programme Organization.
The negotiations ended in the release of two Swedish hostages. A source of the Courts said that the two Swedes were arrested in Huddur City out of fear for their safety.
The spokesman of the Courts denied that the arrest of the two foreign [Swedish] workers is a kidnapping.
He noted that the arrest "is only meant to save their lives and lest it should be said that the Courts was behind causing any harm to them, even if by hostile parties."
Islamic Courts forces entered Balad Weyn City, capital of the Hiran region in central Somalia, yesterday morning and took control of all government headquarters in it. Senior leaders in the Courts have addressed the residents of the city and asked them to be calm and not to loot government headquarters.
The forces of the Courts have also intervened to stop acts of looting of these headquarters.
The Islamic Courts has been waging guerrilla warfare against the Somali Government and the Ethiopian forces for more than a year.
The Courts adopt the policy of lightning takeover of cities, which they seize for a short time.
Its strength has noticeably increased recently, at a time when the Somali Government is losing control over important areas and cities in the central and southern parts of the country.
Mr. Isse Addow said that in a separate incident, his forces attacked a motorcade, in which the deputy commander of the Somali Government forces was travelling, in the town of (Yaqbarweyni), 100 km west of Mogadishu.
He noted that two of the official's guards were killed and four of his escorts were wounded.
In a separate development, the Somali Government has welcomed the decision of the United States on allocating considerable sums of money to help the signatory parties to the agreement of the Djibouti conference and to go ahead with implementing the articles of the agreement, most notably the departure of the Ethiopian forces from Somalia within 120 days.
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