Batting Cleanup In Somalia

Ethiopian and Somali government forces are now heading toward the last remaining stronghold of the islamist militias. The Somalian port city of Kismayo holds an estimated 3,000 islamists since the only place left for the islamists to walk very briskly to is right into the Indian Ocean, the Ethiopians finally have a chance to catch up.

Some 3,000 Muslim militiamen have taken a stand in the port city of Kismayo, wedged between the Kenyan border and the Indian Ocean, and the U.S. government believes they may include four suspects in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Islamic movement's leader, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, pledged to continue its fight despite losing capital and other key towns in recent days. "I want to tell you that the Islamic courts are still alive and ready to fight against the enemy of Allah," he told residents in Kismayo.

The military advance on Kismayo marks the latest move in a stunning turnaround for Somalia's government, which just weeks ago could barely control one town, its base of Baidoa in the west. Since Ethiopia's dramatic entry into the war last week, however, government troops have retaken the capital, Mogadishu, and pushed the Islamists from much of the territory they held for six months.

The Somali and Ethiopian troops, riding in 16 Ethiopian tanks and armored vehicles, were positioned about 75 miles north of Kismayo on Saturday. A trickle of Somalis began to leave the city in anticipation of an attack.

Um, that is one heck of an armored fist, isn't it? 16 whole vehicles. Are you starting to get the impression that the overall reporting coming out of the Horn of Africa is abysmal? The press touted the islamists as the mightiest thing since Quinn the Eskimo. And 16 tanks annihilated them or sent them out to earn the brisk walk land speed record. Someone should tell them that if they are brisk enough they could actually briskly walk across the water. I saw it on a cartoon once. It must be true. At least as good as some of the reporting, anyway.

Other Links to this Post

1. Blue Crab Boulevard » “Ethiopia Does What It Wants To Do.” — Sunday, 31 December , 2006 @ 6:16 pm

2. Blue Crab Boulevard » Somali Islamists Run Walk Briskly Away - Again — Monday, 1 January , 2007 @ 8:17 pm

3. Blue Crab Boulevard » Al Qaeda To Somalis: Kill Yourselves — Friday, 5 January , 2007 @ 9:41 am