MOGADISHU – Somalia's Islamic courts on Monday,
June 5, claimed victory over a US-backed warlord alliance after four
months of fierce fighting in the capital Mogadishu that claimed the
lives of hundreds as the interim government invited the courts to take
part in dialogue.
"The Joint Islamic Courts are not interested
in a continuation of hostilities and will fully implement peace and
security after the change has been made by the victory of the people
with the support of Allah," its chairman Sheikh Sharif Sheikh
Ahmed said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He said fighters loyal to the Islamic courts have
seized the capital Mogadishu from the US-backed Alliance for the
Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT).
"The JIC will take care of the safety of the
people and freedom of individuals and will eradicate any sort of
hostilities brought about by inter-clan fighting," said Sheikh
Ahmed.
Up to 347 people have been killed and more than
1,500 wounded in fierce fighting between his forces and ARPCT militias
since February.
Warlords have controlled Mogadishu since the 1991
overthrow of president Mohamed Siad Barre.
The African country has lacked almost all the
trappings of a functional state, such as national systems of
education, healthcare and justice.
|
|
Mogadishu's elders are championing efforts to formalize the capital seizure from remnants of the alliance. (Reuters)
|
Mogadishu's elders are championing efforts to
formalize the capital seizure from remnants of the alliance.
The Islamic courts representatives met with elders
to discuss the handover of checkpoints, weapons and vehicles held by
gunmen loyal to alliance members Musa Sudi Yalahow and Abdi Hassan
Awale Qeydiid.
"The negotiations are progressing and by the
will of Allah they will bring something by today or tomorrow that will
mark the official end of violence," one senior Islamist official
told AFP.
A third warlord, Bashir Raghe Shirar, had yet to
agree to the talks, the official said.
It was not immediately clear when the transfer
would be complete.
But residents of the Mogadishu's southern Daynile
neighborhood, where the ARPCT was based, told AFP that the handover
had already begun.
Fighters loyal to warlord Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, a
founding ARPCT member, turned over about 25 machine-gun mounted
pick-ups to the JIC fighters, witnesses said.
Qanyare, who had served as national security
minister in the transitional government, had left the city on Sunday,
June 4, apparently en route to Jowhar when it became clear they were
losing grounds.
Established in February, the ARPCT seeks to curb
the growing influence of Mogadishu's eleven Islamic courts accusing
them of harboring Al-Qaeda members.
The Islamic courts have repeatedly refuted the
allegation.
Welcome
The news of the JIC victory was welcomed by
Mogadishu residents.
"This is good news for us because the warlords
were always engaged in battles," resident Ali Abdikadir told
Reuters over the phone.
"We are looking forward to a life without
fighting," he added.
Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has sacked four
ministers, also warlords, who were involved in the deadly clashes and
invited Islamic courts for dialogue.
He fired Qanyare, Commerce Minister Musa Sudi
Yalahow, Militia Rehabilitation Minister Issa Botan Alin and Religious
Affairs Minister Omar Muhamoud Finnish.
The four warlords had defied several orders to stop
fighting with the Islamic courts fighters.
Premier Gedi invited the Islamic courts to take
part in dialogue with a view to ending violence.
The interim government has accused the US of
fanning the flames of civil war by backing the warlords, not only
financially but also militarily.
