The Islamist A-Shabab group in Somalia claims its forces retook control this week over strategic areas of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
A-Shabab, one of the primary factions in the Somali opposition fighting against government forces and troops from African Union, says this marks a new stage in the fighting in Mogadishu.
The group claims to have taken over the Global Hotel, where government forces were barricaded, according to the Egypt-based Islamic News Agency.
Richard Cornwell, an independent consultant and expert on African affairs, told The Media Line that A-Shabab was seeking to replace institutions of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) rather than take over them, because it viewed the government as illegitimate and a creation of foreign powers.
However, he said, creating their own government would be very difficult because of the troublesome and complex nature of Somali society.
“All Somalis have multiple identities, whether in terms of religious ideology, clan allegiance or place of residence,” he said. “You’re dealing with a very complicated set of allegiances and alliances that come together only to fall apart when they’re challenged.”
The goal of the Al-Qa’ida-affiliated force is to topple the government and impose strict Islamic law.
A-Shabab already controls large parts of central and southern Somalia.
In these areas, its strict laws are being manifested in the form of beheadings, the severing of limbs as punishment for theft, enforcing an Islamic dress code and closing down movie theaters.
But Cornwell said creating a Somali state based on A-Shabab’s principles, which opposes foreign and Western influence, would be difficult.
“The form of Islam practiced by most Somalis is a fairly moderate Sufi Islam, which doesn’t lend itself to the formation of a pseudo-Taliban state at all. It would be a bit like trying to herd cats,” he said.
The takeover follows fierce clashes between A-Shabab and government forces on Saturday.
Eyewitnesses told the agency that during Saturday’s fighting, the government lost control over several important positions, including the old port in Mogadishu.
The Media Line’s Somalia correspondent Abdinasser Muhamed Guled, who is located in Mogadishu, confirmed that A-Shabab was indeed in control of large parts of the capital and said he had seen fighters controlling the streets near the presidential palace.
“They are still trying to advance into the small government-controlled areas,” he said.
He added that the government was relying heavily on African Union peacekeepers, who chased A-Shabab away from the large areas on Saturday but the Islamists have since returned.
The weak Somali government is denying the reported defeats.
Since May, Somalia has been embroiled in fresh fighting between the two sides, in which hundreds of fighters and civilians have been killed.
As many as 200,000 Mogadishu residents have fled the capital since the clashes erupted again, the largest displacement since the government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad came to power five months ago.
The United States recently announced it sent 40 tons of arms and ammunition to the Somali government and sent funding to train local soldiers.
American aid to Somalia does not include the deployment of U.S. troops in the country, and the U.S. is concerned the country will become a safe haven for Al-Qa’ida operatives.
The instability in Somalia is also fueling a spate of piracy off the Gulf of Aden.
Cornwell said if the situation in Somalia deteriorated, the U.S. would likely seek to get more involved but cautioned that it would have to go about it very carefully.
“The problem is, how do you get in there and prop up the very weak TFG institutions without aggravating further the Somali feeling of independence and anti-foreignism,” he said, adding that A-Shabab has utilized this sentiment successfully to its own benefit.
“One of the ways this has been attempted is to ask other Islamic African countries to help, and to show that this is not a Western agenda and that Africa is standing behind the TFG.”
Source: The Media Line
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