Illusion
The islamist militias that had been vowing a fight to the death in Somalia appear to have evaporated. The New York Times sounds almost dismayed about that this morning. Instead of fighting for Mogadishu, the militias have abruptly simply dissolved as Ethiopian and Somali government forces prepared to assault the capitol. Mogadishu is reportedly descending right back into complete, clan-based chaos.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 27 — The Islamist forces who have controlled much of Somalia in recent months suddenly vanished from the streets of the capital, Mogadishu, residents said Wednesday night, just as thousands of rival troops massed 15 miles away.
In the past few days, Ethiopian-backed forces, with tacit approval from the United States, have unleashed tanks, helicopter gunships and jet fighters on the Islamists, decimating their military and paving the way for the internationally recognized transitional government of Somalia to assert control.
Even so, the Islamists, who have been regarded as a regional menace by Ethiopia and the United States, had repeatedly vowed to fight to the death for their religion and their land, making their disappearance that much more unexpected.
Fortified checkpoints across the city — in front of the radio station, at the airport, at the main roads leading into Mogadishu and outside police stations — were abruptly abandoned Wednesday night, residents said.
Many of the teenage troops who made up the backbone of the Islamist army had blended back into the civilian population, walking around without guns or their trademark green skullcaps.
The sudden reversal left it unclear whether a war that had threatened to consume the Horn of Africa had quickly ended, or the Islamists had merely gone underground, preparing to wage a guerrilla insurgency, as some leaders had threatened.
The leaders of the islamists held a press conference and all but admitted that they are beaten completely. If nothing else, this shows just how empty the boasting of the islamist groups are. They could not hold an inch of ground against Ethiopian forces. Their iron grip on the country was an illusion fabricated by clever manipulation of the media. With the media's enthusiastic participation, of course. Even though the Ethiopian military may be relatively well equipped for that part of the world, they really are not exactly a powerhouse according to the CIA factbook.
World news | Gaius December 28, 2006
