baalcade Posted January 1, 2008 Somali rallies give voice to division over homeland Local gatherings present different views of the role of Ethiopia in Somalia. By ELBERT AULL Staff Writer December 31, 2007 Dozens of local Somalis gathered in Portland on Sunday in a show of support for the transitional Somali government -- the fragile, U.N.-backed administration caught up in a bloody fight for control of the country. The crowd denounced terrorism and the Islamic Courts Union, the Islamist opposition group that briefly wrested control of Somalia from the transitional government last year. "We are against these radicals and extremists," said elder Noor Ismail of Portland. The rally was the second time in three days that local Somalis gathered in downtown Portland to speak out about the state of their homeland. The demonstrations Friday and Sunday presented both sides of a dispute over whether Ethiopian troops should remain in Somalia to fight an Islamic insurgency -- and whether that insurgency has its roots in an organization that could bring peace to the African nation. About 60 protesters called for Ethiopian troops to leave Somalia during a demonstration Friday in Monument Square. On Sunday, the crowd of nearly 100 responded with a rally in support of the transitional government, Ethiopian peacekeeping forces and an end to the ICU. "Ethiopia is our neighbor. They are trying to help us," said Saeed Osman, 26, of Portland. Maine is home to about 5,000 Somalis, most of whom fled their country during the civil wars of the 1990s. For more than a year, they have closely followed news reports of clashes between the Transitional Federal Government and rival ICU, which took the capital, Mogadishu, in June of 2006 and controlled much of the country by December. The mostly Christian Ethiopia feared the group would pose a threat and intervened on behalf of Somalia's transitional government, sending tanks, troops and aircraft to fight the Islamists. The ICU declared holy war against Ethiopia, but was quickly defeated. Those loyal to the organization maintained an insurgency in Somalia, while Ethiopian troops remained to comprise the bulk of an international peacekeeping force. The dispute drew the attention of much of the African, Arab and Western world because of reports from the United States and U.N. that linked the ICU to militant Islamic groups including Hezbollah and al-Qaida. Local Somalis have expressed a wide range of opinions since the Ethiopian intervention. Some are wary of Ethiopia's role as peacekeepers in their struggling country, given a history of conflict between the border nations that includes bloody wars in the 1960s and 1970s. They said the Islamists brought order to what were once lawless streets before the intervention. "They brought the country peace," Mohamud Barre of Portland, who helped organize the earlier rally, said of the ICU. Barre said Ethiopian troops have not forgotten the bad blood between their nations and have indiscriminately targeted Somali citizens in response to insurgent attacks. "They are targeting every Somali. They think, 'Kill him before he kills you. Shoot him before he shoots you,' " he said. The U.N. says fighting and food shortages in Mogadishu have forced an estimated 600,000 people from their homes in the past year. But supporters of the transitional government see no hope for a peaceful Somalia unless the Islamists are driven out. They believe the Islamists are linked to al-Qaida -- so do U.S. officials, although the ICU denies the charge -- and said their homeland's geographic location on the Horn of Africa makes it attractive to terrorist groups looking for a place to plan attacks throughout the Middle East and Africa. The crowd at Sunday's rally called for continued U.S. support for the transitional government. Many waved American flags; one woman held a sign that read: "God Bless America." "We want to see peace in our home," said elder Mohamed Issak of Portland, who helped organize the rally. Soure: pressherald.mainetoday Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
