Originally posted by Jaylaani: Jacylbaro, ILAAHAY ha u naxariisto dhamaantood ILAAHAY baa ka abaal marin qofkii gardarada ku laayayna ciqaabtiisa tusi doonaa. BTW, don't even try to reason with these catz. They're applauding the same activities, which are currently taking place in Mogadishu. …cowards! At least these low life evil individual were defeated and we get our land back... Waryaa mr Jaylaani xaanaa manaa baa kabadatee Maxaad ka odhan lahey dadkii masaakiintee SNM tu laysay? Many of them were my family members. SNM this SNM that they were bunch criminals, so hadii yeey, morgan , geedi, and all of the other criminals justice la horkeenayo SNM tu waa inay ku jirtaa.

Originally posted by mystic: ^^^Amin I don’t see any of the TFG supporters showing any sympathy to the innocent people who were slaughtered by Ethiopian and TFG thugs. That alone speaks volume. I remember how much havoc they created on this forum when few Ethiopian and TFG soldiers where dragged through the streets. And now when more than 1000 of their countrymen, women and children have being massacred savagely they remain silent, as if they are laughing, grinning in the dark, with yellowy stained teeth. The enemy is nothing compared to them. May Allah save us from them... Aamiin to that. Wuxuu Pi qoray ayaadan arkin. I am glad they removed his post. Wuuba ku faraxsanaa, :mad: markaasuu waliba somalia online see joogaa cajiib. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by General Duke: Here is Dukes next prediction, Mogadishu will be pacified in a couple of months. looooool

"Ma jiraan wax iska badalay qabsoomida shirka dib u heshiisiinta ee la iclaamiyay inuu qabsoomo 16-ka bishan" ayuu yiri Wasiirka dib u heshiisiinta Maxamed Cabdi Xayir "Maareeye". loooool

As a fragile ceasefire gives both sides time to remobilize and civilians caught in the crossfire time to flee, local analysts say plans are likely underway for a new major offensive that will bring Somalia to its knees. Commentary by Abdurrahman Warsameh in Mogadishu for ISN Security Watch (10/04/07) A shaky ceasefire is holding between clan fighters and Ethiopian and Somali government troops in the chaotic Somali capital after four days of bloody conflict that has left an unprecedented trial of death, destruction and displacement of civilians. The future of the current ceasefire is expected to be decided later today as ****** clan elders and Ethiopian officials, after days of delay, are expected to meet to discuss the withdrawal of troops from both sides from their positions so that substantive discussions could be held to resolve the cause of the conflict. But the atmosphere in Mogadishu is a skeptical one, with many locals fearing that the truce is little more than a tactical move to give both sides time to regroup and rearm - and to give those civilians trapped in their homes time to leave the city before the real battle begins in earnest. The civilian death toll has led Europe to break ranks with the US and call for an investigation of possible war crimes by Ethiopian and Somali forces in their recent onslaught on clan insurgents in the seaside city of two million. EU countries could be considered complicit if they do nothing to stop them, according to an EU email obtained by the Associated Press on Friday. US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer visited the Somali city of Baidoa on Saturday to reiterate Washington's commitment to support the Somali government in its effort to achieve and uphold security and stability there, but did not take issue with civilian casualties or the Ethiopian drive to crack down on clan insurgents in Mogadishu. Instead, Frazer praised the Somali government and its Ethiopian allies for defeating the Islamists and pledged US$100 million in aid for their efforts. Four days of death and destruction This latest fighting erupted last Thursday when Ethiopian troops backing the internationally recognized Somali government attempted to take new positions in the city to crack down on insurgent elements and pacify the capital in time for the scheduled mid-April national reconciliation congress called by the transitional government early in March. A previous 22 March ceasefire between the two sides was allegedly broken by the Ethiopian move, which led to an escalation in violence in the seaside city. Ethiopian military officials in Mogadishu, who normally do not speak to local or international media, tend not to make announcements about ceasefire agreements with clan elders but make secret contacts with insurgent leaders to sign truce deals. Leaders of a major powerful ****** clan in the south of Somalia accuse the government of transitional president Abdullahi Yusuf of targeting them for disarmament while other clans in the country maintain their weapons. The Somali government, in turn, blames remnants of the defeated Islamists, who earlier last year had control over the capital and much of the country for a brief period, for the recent outbreak of violence in the capital. The government claims the ****** clan is harboring the Islamists - a claim the clan elders have vehemently denied. The tally of the dead, injured and displaced has been rising, with new death tolls issued almost daily since the fragile ceasefire was agreed. The death toll during the last four days of fighting has been reported by various organizations as anywhere between 400 and 1,000 and obtaining an accurate toll has proved nearly impossible. A report issued by a committee set up by ****** clan elders in Mogadishu to assess the damage caused by the recent fighting said that almost 1,100 people had been "massacred" by Ethiopian and interim government forces. That figure has not been independently confirmed. The Somali government and its Ethiopian allies have not bothered to issue any civilian casualty figures, but Ethiopian Prime Minister Melles Zenawi said late last month that his forces "eliminated nearly 200 extremists." The Elman Human Rights Organization, a Somali human rights group in Mogadishu, estimates that nearly 400 people - mainly civilians - have been killed in the last four days of clashes. "The tolls were calculated from hospital figures, local groups and burials but do not include Ethiopian soldiers that may have been killed," Sudan Ali Ahmed, Chairman of the rights group told AP on Monday. The UN refugee agency says some 124,000 people have fled Mogadishu since the beginning of February. In the last six days, another 73,000 reportedly have fled for safety, most of them to neighboring southern regions on buses, trucks, and donkey and hand carts. Those who cannot afford such transportation are walking tens of miles to safety, the agency said. Hospital sources in Mogadishu told ISN Security Watch on Monday that close to 1,000 people may have been wounded since the start of the fighting on Thursday. Widespread diarrhea caused by unsafe drinking water has hit both children and adults in camps for the internally displaced in the towns of Afgoye and Marka, south of the Somali capital. Food and essential medical supplies are running out and local and international NGOs warn of an impending humanitarian catastrophe if no aid is made available to the displaced soon. During the four days of battle, Somali government and Ethiopian troops heavily bombarded a half kilometer stretch of the only "liberated" street in Mogadishu, destroying almost every single house in the area. Preparing for a major offensive Local analysts believe that both sides are preparing for a major offensive. Thousands of Ethiopian reinforcement troops arrived in Mogadishu with tanks and heavy artillery. Insurgents are digging trenches in backstreets in Mogadishu’s notorious dangerous alleyways. People in the city, fearing long-drawn street-to-street and house-to-house battles for the control of Mogadishu, are leaving for good. The Somali government, which says it is not bound by the truce, has called on residents in battle areas to leave as government and Ethiopian forces "would mount a mopping operation to get rid of remnant terrorist elements." Local analysts also believe that clan insurgents, who have a known capability to shoot down aircraft as was seen on Friday when they downed an Ethiopian helicopter over Mogadishu, have now obtained what they have been lacking for the past four days of fighting: anti-tank mines and rockets. At best, the international community has been offering lip service to the besieged people of Somalia, who have suffered under the brutal regime of the war lords who are now leaders of the current interim government. "They deserve to be heard," human rights activist Dahir Omar, told ISN Security Watch in Mogadishu. "The bureaucracy of the UN and the double standards of the west did not help to stop the carnage and the worse to come if the human conscience does not prevail over immoral national interests." After a brief period of relative stability last year when the Islamists took control of much of the country after 16 years of anarchy, the situation has turned for the worse, with the arrival in Mogadishu of the transitional Somali government backed by Ethiopian airpower and armor. So for now, the residents of Somalia are hoping that Europe, if not the US, will intervene to stop the bloodshed, rather than offering outright support for Somali and Ethiopian troops as the two allies and the clan insurgents remobilize for a renewed battle. For the residents of Somalia, choosing a side is rather more complicated, as the brutal tactics of government and Ethiopian troops have led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians, while clan insurgents use them as human shields. And there is even less hope for the planned reconciliation meeting in two weeks time, as warlord chaos continues to gain momentum and the historical animosity between Somalis and Ethiopia make the latter's troop presence a less than stabilizing factor.

Originally posted by Jaylaani: The Tennessee girls look presentable but Rutgers chicks looked horrible...like ghetto crack heads straight out of the hood. Originally posted by Baashi: He crossed the line. Kinky haired yes but hos is way way over the top! "Ghetto crack heads" "hood" "kinky haired" :rolleyes: Since when do we talk about people's abuurta illahay like they created themselves. Kinky haired, kulaha. Who talks about white women's hair or clothes when they are playing basketball? These are young, intelligent women studying in an Ivy League school. They are accomplished in athletics and academics. Haddaad ilmo cawaroleh dhasho oo lagu caayo wershaha abuurta alla bal baashiyoow maxaad samayn lahayd?

Originally posted by Taako Man: Tone It's the principle. If the pictures were from Garacad, I would say they were from Garacad. However some are trying to play there own agenda here. Garacad? What do you mean? :confused:

Che, Waar kuwaas way caytamayaane is ka daayoo. They can bark all they want. Maxaad adigu umaleynaysaa sawairadaasi?

^^^^^ too pathetic a comeback to warrant a serious response. go find someone your age to play with. :rolleyes:

^^^ You're now distancing yourself from your own aunts in the picture? lol. Be proud and say it loud. That's my auntie raising despot Meles Zenawi's picture. loooool.

Originally posted by Taako Man: Fanisha Those pics are from Xamar, and not Puntland. lol. who are you kidding dude? Where the picture was taken is not important. What matters is who the people in the picture are. The occupied people from Xamar who only 8 days ago were being bombed from the air would celebrate with Meles Zenawi's picture? loool. Either you're mistaking these misguided and brainwashed Buntland women for Xamarawis or you think Xamarawi women are dumb enough to celebrate with pictures of those who kill their children. So which is it Taako man?

Originally posted by Mj. bada Cas: quote:Originally posted by Paragon: Xataa Islaamihii waxay usacbinayaan oo sawirada ka mid ah kii Melez Zenawi oo ah nin gacan ku dhiiglaha ah ee dadka ku laayey Muqdisho. Layaab! Is this a joke? Are these women crazy? is this picture from Pland? :mad: Now where is Che? see waxaan sheegayay wuxuun baa ka jira.

Habaar qabooyinka ilkaha saqafka leh ayaa dadka ka qabta :mad: Alah ha u naxariisto intii ku dhimatay. Wixii dhibaatadaa gaysteyna Alah aakhiro iyo aduunba ha ku caddaabo IA.

^^lool

Aamiin.

Originally posted by abu ansaar17: It shows the disgusting hypocracy. they whine about how YEEY is dhabo-dhilif and look the other side when its their leaders going to Addis for instructions. Lets face reality, somalia is under ethiopian control. Both yeey and Riyaale are collaborators so spare us the sanctimony. :rolleyes:

With the war-torn south in anarchy despite massive outside aid, a peaceful breakaway republic seeks international recognition as it goes its own way with a homegrown mix of democracy and traditional problem-solving April 08, 2007 Jeffrey Gettleman New York Times When the sun rises over the craggy hills of Hargeysa, it sheds light on a different kind of Somalia. Trucks selling genuine soft ice cream hit the streets. Moneychangers, unarmed and unguarded, push cash through the market in wheelbarrows. Politicians from three distinct parties get ready for another day of debate, which recently included an animated discussion on registering nomadic voters. It's all part of a Somali puzzle: how one area of the country, the northwest, also known as Somaliland, can seem so peaceful and functional while the rest continues to be such a violent, chaotic mess. "We built this state because we saw the problems here as our problems," says Dahir Rayale Kahin, president of the unrecognized Republic of Somaliland, which has long declared itself independent from the rest of Somalia. "Our brothers in the south are still waiting ... for others." But Somalilanders are waiting, too: waiting to be recognized as a sovereign state. In 1991, as Somalia's government disintegrated and clan fighting in the south spun out of control, Somaliland, traditionally one of the poorest parts of Somalia, made its first declaration of independence. In 2001, Somalilanders went to the polls and overwhelmingly supported a constitution drawn up in 1997. But no country acknowledges Somaliland as a separate state and very few even contribute aid – which makes its success all the more intriguing. Its leaders, with no Western experts at their elbow, have devised a political system that minimizes clan rivalries while carving out a special role for clan elders, the traditional pillars of Somali society. They have demobilized thousands of the young gunmen who still plague Somalia and melded them into a national army. They have even held three rounds of multiparty elections, no small feat in a region, the Horn of Africa, where multiparty democracy is mostly a rumour. Somalia has not had free elections since the 1960s. Of course, Somaliland has not always been so stable, and Somalia has not always been so chaotic. Even now, critics say, the Somaliland government can be repressive and inefficient, and the mental hospital in Hargeysa, the capital of Somaliland, seems to be evidence of both. Patients are chained to their beds in dark, smelly rooms – but Somalilanders are quick to point out that at least they have a mental hospital, which the more populous south does not. The Somalilanders' steady, underdog efforts to create a functioning state from the ruins of war seem to dispel the notion that Somalia is an inherently ungovernable, warlike place. So, what happened? When the colonial powers sliced up the Horn of Africa in the 19th century, the British got Somaliland and the Italians got Somalia. While the British relied mostly on clan chiefs to govern, the Italians created an entire Italian-speaking administration and imported thousands of people from Italy to farm bananas, build cathedrals and teach the people how to pour espresso. One result was that Mogadishu, along the southern coast, became a major commercial hub and one of the most beautiful cities in Africa – but its traditional systems of authority were weakened. That is partly why, many analysts say, warlords were able to outmuscle clan elders and dominate Mogadishu in the vacuum that formed after the central government fell in 1991. The British, on the other hand, never invested much in Somaliland, leaving it poor and dusty but with its traditions more or less intact. The two territories were granted independence in 1960 and quickly merged to form the Somali Republic, but it was never a happy marriage. By the 1980s, the Somali National Movement, a northern rebel group, was blowing up government posts. In 1988, government fighter-bombers flattened Hargeysa, killing 50,000 civilians. The Somali National Movement proved indispensable in the fragile years after the central government collapsed. It set up the guurti, a council of elders from every clan, which soon evolved into an official decision-making body. Most council members were illiterate herders, but they became the glue that held Somaliland together. In a sparsely populated nomadic society, where many people live far from government services, clan elders are traditionally the ones to reconcile differences and maintain social order. "They were a cushion," notes Ahmed Mohammed Silanyo, leader of Somaliland's main opposition party. "Whenever there was friction, these old men would step in and say, `What's wrong with you boys? Stay together.'" In the 1990s, while clan warlords in Mogadishu were levelling the capital's fine Italian architecture, the guurti, along with rebel leaders, were building a government. With the whole area awash with weapons and split by warring clans, Somaliland's leaders moved to persuade the militiamen to give up their guns – a goal that still seems remote in the south. They moved slowly, first taking the armed pickups, then the heavy guns. Again, this stood in contrast to the south, where thousands of U.S. Marines and UN peacekeepers failed to put a dent in clan violence. "We had a higher purpose – independence," notes Abdillahi Duale, Somaliland's foreign minister. "And nobody in the outside world was going to help us get there." That would prove to be a theme here. The less outside help, the better. Over the years, southern Somalia has received tens of millions – if not hundreds of millions – of dollars in aid, and Somaliland almost nothing. The difference is striking, though it is true that Somaliland may be easier to govern with an estimated 2.5 million people, compared with 6 million in the south, and a somewhat less complex clan structure. Still, for elections in 2002, Somaliland leaders devised a system specifically to check clan power. They limited the number of political parties to three to prevent a repeat of the fragmentation of the 1960s, when nationwide elections spawned more than 60 political parties, essentially one for each subclan. It was an attempt to create parties based on ideology, not tribe, something that has proved quite difficult across Africa. The leaders also turned the guurti, whose 82 elders are appointed by their respective clans, into the upper house of parliament – "Somaliland's senators," as people here say. In some ways, Somalia's transitional government is now trying to replicate Somaliland's approach by including representatives of all the major clans. But some experts say the transitional government is missing broad support, partly because because many of those selected to serve in the transitional government lack the stature of guurti elders. The guurti in Somaliland can strike down laws passed by the elected House of Representatives, though the representatives can override the guurti with a two-thirds vote. It is a mix of tradition and modernity – Western-style democracy meets Somali-style politics – though some Somalilanders say it's time to renovate the system. "We need to move on," argues Faisal Ali Waraabe, leader of the opposition Justice and Welfare Party. "The guurti helped get us through a crisis, but now we're trying to push our people from tribal loyalty to institutional loyalty, from clan loyalty to national loyalty." Silanyo agrees: "It's ridiculous to have an elected body that can be trumped by an unelected body." Meanwhile, the one issue that unites most Somalilanders is recognition. Somaliland has its own currency, its own flag, its own national anthem and even its own passport. "And we have peace, a peace owned by the community," says Zamzam Adan, a women's rights activist. "You'd think in this part of the world, that would count for something."

Mogadishu elders say no to U.S. mediation By Apr 7, 2007 - 3:54:32 PM MOGADISHU, Somalia Apr 7 (Garowe Online) - Elders representing fighting groups in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, said on Saturday that they refused to participate in U.S.-led mediation efforts to find a lasting truce in the country. Salaad Mohamed Barwako, a Mogadishu elder, said they were invited by American intelligence services to come to Baidoa and participate in talks with the transitional government. "We are [very] busy with other important issues, such as pacifying Mogadishu," Barwako said. Barwako's claim that U.S. agents invited Mogadishu elders for talks with the government could not be independently verified. However, his comments came on a day U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, led an American delegation to the inland town of Baidoa under tight security to hold talks with President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi. It was the first visit to Somalia by a ranking U.S. diplomat in the past 13 years. After talks with Yusuf and Gedi, Frazer addressed the Somali transitional Parliament, which is still based in Baidoa. Her message to all she met was to promote dialogue in order to resolve Somalia's enduring conflict, according to a U.S. press statement. The U.S. government backed Ethiopia's military intervention in southern Somalia in late 2006, when thousands of Ethiopian combat troops overwhelmed less-armed Islamic Courts militia fighters and expelled them from major cities, including their former stronghold of Mogadishu. Garowe Online News

Originally posted by rudy: duqda! your uncle is war criminal now! he killed mothers n children.... does that ring bell in your door brain or its like vast space in there!! lol.

EU given war crime warning over Somalia aid · Fears that funding could prompt complicity charge · Mogadishu clans 'being targeted for cleansing' Xan Rice in Nairobi Saturday April 7, 2007 The Guardian European lawyers are examining whether alleged war crimes committed by Ethiopian and Somali troops in Mogadishu last week could expose the EU to accusations of complicity because of its formidable financial assistance to the two countries. A massive Ethiopian-led offensive to pacify an insurgency in the Somali capital left nearly 400 people dead between March 29 and April 1. Human rights groups say many of the victims were civilians and accuse the Ethiopians of using tanks and attack helicopters to fire indiscriminately into densely populated areas. Some analysts in Somalia have backed the war crimes allegations, saying that specific clans in Mogadishu have been targeted for "cleansing" by pro-government forces. Reports of the attacks prompted the European commission's senior adviser on security for Somalia to send a letter, seen by the Guardian, to Eric van der Linden, the commission's head of delegation in Kenya, on April 2, alerting him to the "significance of the events of the past four days in Mogadishu in terms of the international law on conflict". The security adviser, who has wide experience in African conflict zones, including Darfur, said the head of the African Union peacekeeping mission, Amisom and comprising 1,200 Ugandans, might also be guilty of war crimes for failing to act responsibly. Ethiopian helicopters used the Amisom-controlled airport in Mogadishu as a base for launching helicopter attacks and flying in reinforcements. "I need to advise you that there are strong grounds to believe that the Ethiopian government and the transitional federal government of Somalia and the Amisom force commander...have through commission or omission violated the Rome statute of the international criminal court [iCC]," he wrote. He accused Ethiopian and Somali troops of breaking international law by intentionally attacking civilians in Mogadishu and by ordering their displacement. Ethiopia ousted the Somali Council of Islamic Courts from power in late December but has been unable to pacify Mogadishu, which is controlled by the powerful ****** clan. Though the insurgents are former Islamist fighters and clan and warlord militias, the Ethiopians and the Somali government have singled out two subclans as bearing the greatest responsibility. Somalia's president, Abdullahi Yusuf, a former warlord despised in the capital, said recently that civilians in areas where insurgents operated would be "bombarded". Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda vehemently reject the war crimes allegations. Mr van der Linden said it was up the ICC to look at war crimes. "Is there any suspicion that this is what occurred? To my mind, no. But the person who wrote the letter is a security specialist, so I have sent it to our headquarters for legal experts to look at." Lawyers will look at the security adviser's warning about the European commission's potential culpability as the largest donor to both Somalia and Ethiopia and as a big financial backer of the peacekeeping mission. "In regards the above-mentioned violations of international law, there arise urgent questions of responsibility and potential complicity in the commission of war crimes by the European commission and its partners, specifically with regard to the current and ongoing financial and technical assistance being provided by the EC to any of the parties who may have committed war crimes," the letter read. One Somali expert, who requested anonymity, said the chaotic state of the country meant war crimes charges were unlikely to reach the ICC. Strong support from the US for Ethiopia's incursion is another potential obstacle to investigation. But the expert and another regional analyst said it was time the international community spoke out against abuses. "When the Sudan government bombs villages in Darfur, it's called genocide," the second analyst said. "But when the Ethiopians bomb civilian areas...nothing is said. Is it because this is perceived to be part of the war on terror?"

looool. It's difficult to decide which is more pathetic: the title of the post, the subject of the post or the poster.

Waryaa Duke why are you showing us old pictures? Mise waxaad kaga dhigeysaa... Xoorkii laga dhamey xagaagii iyo xasuusbaa geela lagu xergeeyaa. Adeerkaa wuu khasaariyey fursadii sax?

Originally posted by JJ_MAHAD: Basic demands: What demands? If I am not mistaken, the title says: (Somalilanders in diaspora mobilize help for Mogadishu genocide victims). What makes me sad is, ppl who want ride on the traggic situation in Mogadisho in order to achieve their self-interset and short-sided politacal ambitions. So what is your point? Ma waxaad leedahey dadka masaakiinta ah ee Caruur iyo dumar ubadan ee daggaalka dhexdiisa dhibaatadu ku saameysay yaan la caawin? :confused: Have you seen Aljaseera yesterday?

The Ethiopian offensive has completely shattered any possibility for the TFG gaining any acceptance from the Somali people. In other words, the TFG is dead but Somalis must still move forward and work towards genuine reconciliation. The fraudsters and criminals making up this puppet government headed by the bloodthirsty yeey has achieved this so far: 1) Printed worthless multi-colored passports 2) 400 civilians mowed down by Ethiopian forces 3) thousands injured 4) Neighborhoods in Mogadishu bombed flat 5) An exodus of 100,000 people out of Mogadishu in a matter of weeks 6) The capture of innocents and disappearing them in Ethiopian Guantanamo-like prisons. And many more crimes. This TFG has already gone down in history as the worst assembly of the most ruthless, most greedy and most incompetent *******s this wretched country has ever seen. In a nut-shell, Abdullahi Yusuf has shown his true colors with his tribalist ranting and the TFG has died with the carnage in Mogadishu. It is now or never for Somali patriots to stand-up. Reconciliation-ow xaal qaado.

New York Times By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN Published: April 5, 2007 NAIROBI, Kenya, April 5 — European diplomats said Thursday that they were investigating whether Ethiopian and Somali government forces committed war crimes last week during heavy fighting in Somalia’s capital that killed more than 300 civilians. The fighting, some of the bloodiest in Somalia in the past 15 years, pitted Ethiopian and Somali forces against bands of insurgents and reduced blocks of buildings in Mogadishu, the capital, to smoldering rubble. Many Mogadishu residents have complained to human rights groups, saying that the government used excessive force and indiscriminately shelled their neighborhoods. On Thursday, Eric Van der Linden, chief of the European Commission’s delegation to Kenya, said that he had appointed a team to look into several war crime allegations stemming from the civilian casualties. “These are hefty accusations,” Mr. Van der Linden said. “We are examining them very prudently.” In an e-mail to Mr. Van der Linden marked “urgent,” a security adviser to the commission wrote that there are “strong grounds” to believe that Ethiopian and Somali troops had intentionally attacked civilian areas and that Ugandan peacekeepers, who arrived in the country last month, were complicit for standing by. The e-mail was provided by someone who thought that the issue should become public and its authenticity was confirmed by commission officials. Ethiopian, Somali and Ugandan officials denied Thursday that their soldiers had done anything wrong. A war crimes case is about the last thing Somalia’s transitional government needs. Ever since it took control of Mogadishu in late December, the transitional government has struggled to pacify the city and win popular support. Many Western diplomats had expressed hope that this transitional government, Somalia’s 14th, would end the seemingly interminable chaos that has enveloped the country since the central government collapsed in 1991. But so far, the government has failed to deliver the same level of stability that an Islamist administration brought during its brief reign last year. It was overthrown by Ethiopian-led forces, with covert American help. Mogadishu has become so dangerous — again — that many residents say they are now doubting whether the government will be able to hold a major reconciliation conference scheduled for mid-April. The Ethiopian military struck a truce with insurgents on Sunday, though, and the past three days have been quiet, giving beleaguered residents a chance to bury their dead. The European Commission has no authority to prosecute war crimes and would have to refer any findings to the International Criminal Court. But commission officials said they were investigating the accusations because the commission has provided money and technical assistance to the transitional government and the peacekeeping mission here there. A Western official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic considerations predicted that even if there were compelling evidence of war crimes, the case would probably never get to court. Another Western official, speaking anonymously for similar reasons, said, “At the end of the day, no one is going to want to further undermine the transitional government.” Diplomats, and analysts from Somali and international organizations predicted Thursday that the American government would resist the European effort because Ethiopia is a close American ally, valued as bulwark against Islamic militants in the Horn of Africa. In the past week, human rights groups have been urging someone to look into the civilian casualties issue. The Somali Diaspora Network, an American-based advocacy group, accused the transitional government and Ethiopian forces of “collective punishment” and genocide. The Somali Disapora Network said that Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the transitional president, warned in a recent radio interview that “any place from which a bullet is fired we will bombard it regardless of whoever is there.” Several of the analysts said that they believed Ethiopian forces overreacted in last week’s fighting. One analyst who works closely with Somali issues said Ethiopian soldiers may have panicked after they were surrounded by insurgents in Mogadishu’s main stadium and commanders responded by carpet-bombing the entire neighborhood. Ethiopian officials denied this. “Our forces have been praised for not attacking civilians and nothing in recent days has changed,” said Zemedkun Tekle, spokesman for the Ethiopian government. Abdirizak Adam Hassan, chief of staff for Somalia’s transitional president, did not deny that many civilians had been killed. “Unfortunately, this is what happens when you fight in a city,” he said. But, he said, the government was simply trying to defend itself. “For a good two months, these insurgents have been attacking our government compounds, planting land mines in the road, assassinating people,” he said. “Our job is to protect the people, not kill them.”