Hardline Islamists are on the verge of reconquering Somalia two years after their battlefield defeat at the hands of the U.S.-backed Ethiopian army.
Recall that the Islamic Courts’ brief reign in Somalia in 2006 coincided with a big boost in economic investment and a downturn in piracy and banditry. If there’s one thing Islamists are good at, it’s law and order.
But Somalis — especially in Mogadishu — are not traditionally conservative Muslims. How do they feel about the Islamists’ return?
“People are not much worried in Mogadishu, but everybody looks forward [to] the [new] situation and what is next,” one of my Somali sources tells me.
It helps that Islamists in Somalia are not all the same. For every group enforcing strict Sharia law, there are more moderate groups who have been enthusiastically embraced by everyday Somalis. Indeed, lately there have been splits inside the dominant Islamic group. It seems the mainline Islamic Courts is now squabbling with its armed Al Shabab wing over land ownership in the vast swaths of southern Somalia now under Islamist control.
(Photo: me)
Related:
Port fall might help piracy problem
Is secret sea lane working against pirates?
Puntland raids pirates
No easy solutions to piracy problem
What I learned from a Somali warlord
Secret sea lane for piracy protection
Peacekeepers, insurgents swap mortar fire
U.S. planes terrify Somalis
Somalia series
Ethiopians withdraw? Peace talks break down
Ship rescues Somalis
Who are Al Shabab?
Abducted journos’ vulnerability
Journos kidnapped!
Problems retrieving journos
Kidnapping: inside job?
Ransom pending?
Developments in kidnapping case
Ignored victims
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