Militias Help Somali Force Regain Towns Near Borders

President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed was quick to take credit, even though most of the fighting had been done by government forces and militias loosely aligned with Somalia’s transitional government or by African Union peacekeepers. In the past few weeks, heavily armed peacekeepers have taken back several neighborhoods here, in Somalia’s capital, from the Shabab, a radical Islamist insurgent group. On Sunday and Monday, government-allied militias drove the Shabab out of Luuq and El Wak, both in southern Somalia near Kenya. “Al Shabab is on the verge of collapse,” the president boasted at a news conference on Monday. “We shall also sweep them from Mogadishu. Our enemies have suffered a great loss. It is obvious they will run away from many towns.” Dozens of civilians have been killed in the fighting, which often involves indiscriminate barrages of mortar fire. Some news reports indicate that at least 40 peacekeepers have been killed, though African Union officials have publicly disclosed only a handful of deaths. It is not clear how many Shabab fighters have died, but hospital workers in Shabab-controlled areas say many high-ranking commanders have been killed or wounded, including one American citizen whose nom de guerre is Abu Monsur al-Ameriki, and who was recently spotted being treated for minor injuries at a hospital here. Still, the transitional government of Somalia seems to be in disarray. On Monday, the president abruptly fired several top Somali security officials. It was not immediately clear why. Shabab fighters said that Ethiopian troops had entered Somalia and were fighting on behalf of the Somali government. In 2006, tens of thousands of Ethiopian troops poured across the border to oust an Islamist group that controlled much of Somalia. “It is not the first time Ethiopia invaded Somalia,” said Ali Mohamoud Rageh, a Shabab spokesman. Kenyan authorities have been tightening security along the border, and they say they have recently captured several Shabab fighters trying to flee into Kenya. On Monday, Kenyan officials said a spate of recent grenade attacks inside their country was the work of Kenyan militants who had been trained by the Shabab, according to The Associated Press. Source: New york times, MOHAMMED IBRAHIM and JEFFREY GETTLEMAN < Prev   Next >