Jihad update: Somalia

And you thought it was just "inner struggle".

An Islamic militia that has seized much of southern Somalia declared a holy war Monday against Ethiopia, accusing its neighbor of deploying thousands of troops to prop up the country’s weak, U.N.-backed government.

“I urge all the Somali people to wage holy war against the Ethiopians,” said top Islamic leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, wearing combat fatigues and holding aloft an AK-47 assault rifle.

“Ethiopian troops have intentionally invaded our land,” he said. “We will counter them soon.”..

The Islamic group opposes any outside intervention, and is particularly incensed at any role played by Ethiopia, Somalia’s historic rival.

Somalia’s weak but internationally recognized government publicly denies it is being supported by Ethiopian troops. However, government officials, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said about 6,000 Ethiopian troops are in Somalia...

I'm really from Missouri on this, what with Darfur and all:

African peacekeepers will be deployed to Somalia within a few weeks or months, Kenya said on Thursday, under a plan opposed by powerful Islamists who threaten the country’s shaky interim government...

The Islamists, which formed as a union of sharia law courts, are vehemently opposed to foreign peacekeepers -- particularly those from bordering nations like Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

Any deployment requires UN Security Council approval...

Mark C.

Damian adds: a good piece on Somalia appeared in The Sunday Telegraph this past weekend.

Posted by markc at October 9, 2006 04:36 PM