A once-powerful warlord in Somalia surrendered hundreds of weapons - among them machine guns and mortars - to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) Saturday, further consolidating the latter's takeover of the Horn of Africa country. Omar Finnish also put members of his militia under the ICU's leadership, saying he was doing so at the request of "our traditional and religious elders." Analysts said the clan militias that until recently had fought for control of the capital no longer pose much of a threat to the ICU's expanding control. But Somalia remains tense because the ICU and the interim - and weak - government have yet to resume talks on their future relationship.

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR http://www.csmonitor.com 3/7/06

Heavy casualties were reported in Somalia's capital as the Islamists who seized it last month routed the militias of two secular warlords who'd rejected demands to surrender. At least 19 people died in the fighting Sunday and dozens of others were wounded. The two sides had agreed last month not to resume hostilities, but reports said the Islamists first sealed off escape routes from enclaves controlled for years by the secular clans, then attacked them.

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR http://www.csmonitor.com 9/7/06

Gun battles between Islamist militiamen and fighters loyal to Somali warlords extended into a second day in the capital, Moga-dishu, and hospital sources said the number of deaths had passed 60. Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys accused President Bush of using the warlords "to kill people" and said his militia had "no other option but to fight to the finish." But because of the violence, the deputy prime minister of Somalia's fledgling government said the Islamists should be excluded from peace negotiations scheduled for this weekend.

CSM 11/7/06

Rocket-launchers, pickup trucks mounted with machine guns, and other weapons were handed over to the Islamic militia that controls Somalia's capital as hundreds of secular clan fighters surrendered Tuesday. Some reports said their leader, warlord Abdi Awale Qaybdid, fled Mogadishu under cover of darkness for Baidoa, home of the battered nation's powerless interim government. But other reports claimed Qaybdid, the last holdout among the warlords who had occupied much of the capital, had been wounded in the fighting and was hiding there. At least 77 people died and 150 others were hurt in two days of heavy gun battles prior to Tuesday's surrender.

“Outside interventions can be counter productive unless there is precise knowledge of the situation” says Bishop Bertin Apostolic Administrator di Mogadishu

Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides)- “For about a century the Catholic Church has dedicated her service-witness to the poor in Somalia. She did this under colonialism, then with the first Republic, the regime of Siad Barre and in the chaos which followed his fall in January 1991. And she intends to continue her service, if she is allowed to do so, even after the Islamic Courts have taken power over a good part of the country” Fides was told by Bishop Giorgio Bertin, Catholic Bishop of Djibouti and Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu.
“I have just returned from visits to Europe and the United States where I illustrated the situation in Somalia” the Bishop said. “Many people asked whether an intervention is necessary in the face of the advance of the Islamic Courts. I replied that at the moment it is best to wait and see what happens. Outside interventions can sometimes make things worse rather than better. It is enough to see what happened in recent months when support offered to the ephemeral War Lords’ alliance proved to be ulterior incentive for the Islamic Courts”.
“Somali society is extremely complex” the Bishop explained. “It is very difficult to intervene from outside without upsetting things. It remains to be seen if the Islamic factor succeeds in overcoming traditional Somali clan traditions. The Islamic Courts now in power in Mogadishu were born within the Hawaye clan and so far, despite various attempts, they have failed to expand themselves beyond that clan ”.

Some international media say Ethiopian troops are ready to intervene in support of the transition government, recognised by the international community and based at the moment temporarily in Baidoa. “Ethiopia has always feared that the presence of Islamic extremism in Somalia could spread to Somali Muslims living on its territory” said Bishop Bertin. “However an outside intervention might push many Somali to side with the Islamic Courts. Hence the need for maximum prudence and careful assessment of the situation”.
Today July 14 to protest against supposed violations of the cease fire on the part of the militia of the Islamic Courts the provisional government decided to boycott peace talks due to open tomorrow in Sudan. The cease fire agreement was agreed on 22 June during the first talks in Sudan between representatives of the Islamic Courts and those of the provisional Somali government.
At the international level the UN Security Council agreed to let the arms embargo on Somalia be lifted: this opens the way for a possible deployment of peacekeepers in Somalia as requested by the African Union. A decision will be taken on the basis of a detailed AU study for the Inter-Government Authority for Development (IGAD), comprising seven east African countries (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Somali provisional government) which already approved the initiative in principle in January 2005. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 14/7/2006 righe 42 parole 521)