Why I love Somalia...Originally Posted by tequila
Let me count the ways...
Why I love Somalia...
Let me count the ways...
Where is Guriel?
I could not find it on the map but it seems a very strange move on the part of the Ethiopians if it is strategically positioned on a main supply/escape route. (The second link is to a good selection of maps on University of Texas' site)
Ethiopia leaves key Somali town
The Ethiopians are not popular in Somalia
Ethiopian troops have withdrawn from a key town in central Somalia.
Islamist insurgents say they now control Guriel, where Ethiopia had a big military base to secure the road linking the two countries.
A BBC correspondent in Somalia says it is not clear why the Ethiopian troops withdrew without any fighting.
Guriel was a stronghold of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which lost power to Ethiopian-backed government troops a year ago this week.
The BBC's Ayanleh Hussein in Guriel says residents have been cheering the Ethiopians' departure.
During the occupation the local hospital was out of use as it was used as the Ethiopians' military base, he says.
Meanwhile, unrest continues in the capital, Mogadishu, where most Ethiopian forces in the country have been based since last year's invasion, which ended the UIC's six-month rule.
The bodies of four civilians were discovered after battles between insurgents and Ethiopian troops on Thursday around the animal market in the north of the city.
Somalia has been politically fragmented since 1991 and the country's transitional government, faced with an insurgency, is dependent on international aid and Ethiopian military support.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7162957.stm
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/somalia.html
Well, Ethiopia has admitted it can't fight a war on 3 fronts and Eritrea recently accused Ethiopia of attacking some of their military forces on the border. Hmmm...
I hope you are right and they will withdraw returning Somalia to the UIC/ALS but if they are to withdraw it would make a lot more sense to do it from the end of your supply line in an orderly fashion back to your boarders - not give up a position between you and home - unless it is a trap to get the ALS to commit assets to a fixed location.
Remember Somalia is split
A quick point the old country of Somalia is no more. In the north east and essentially the old British Somaliland is a separate country, albeit not recognized by the UN or AU. Last time I looked it was stable and leaning towards a democracy.
davidbfpo
i think you are exaggerating that "split" factor. Puntland and Somaliland are making it on their own because there is no government and the Somali federal charter allows for one or more states to form regional governments so once the 2009 elections happen, their will be or can be easily integrated and they will benefit for a federal state.
they are split along clan lines now and even then, they are split along sub clan lines and it still split along sub sub clans. so i am not sure how solid these unions are.
and the current "president" of somaliland has been there since forever, arrested journalist, killed opposition and even one time banned it. you call that democracy?
Somalia sinks into greater chaos as Islamist insurgents gain ground
Somalia sinks into greater chaos as Islamist insurgents gain ground, International Herald Tribune, 28 March 2008.
The trouble started when government soldiers went to the market and, at gunpoint, began helping themselves to sacks of grain.
Islamist insurgents poured into the streets to defend the merchants. The government troops got hammered, taking heavy casualties and retreating all the way back to the presidential palace, supposedly the most secure place in the city. It, too, came under fire.
Mohamed Abdirizak, a top government official, crouched on a balcony at the palace, with bullets whizzing over his head. He had just given up a cushy life as a development consultant in Springfield, Virginia. His wife thought he was crazy. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
"I feel this slipping away," he said.
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