A post by Pat
Somalia has been chaotic since it descended into fiefdoms run by warlords in the 90’s. The Somali government called in Ethiopian troops in December 2006 to oust the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a union of Sharia courts establishing Sharia law in Somalia. Ethiopia, a Christian country, hoped to prevent the establishment of a Muslim stronghold in a neighboring country. They say they were promised backing from the West. The U.S. claims it did not back the invasion. This is acknowledged by Ethiopian officials, who say the then head of US Central Command, General John Abizaid told them the invasion would be a mistake, and warned that Somalia would become “Ethiopia’s Iraq.” Nevertheless, the U.S. did send some Special Ops teams early on and used AC-130 gunships to try to kill senior Islamists on at least one occasion in January 2007.
Ethiopia has been asking for UN peacekeepers but the UN says not until there are security improvements and political reconciliation within the Somalia government. If security and political reconciliation existed what would be the need for the UN troops one wonders. The Islamic militants have control over most of the country outside of the capital, Mogidishu.
Ethiopia is adamant about pulling out the troops by the end of the year which will leave Somalia in the hands of Muslim militants. Fighting in Somalia has killed 10,000 civilians since early 2007. The chaotic situation in Somalia has already created a breeding ground for kidnappings and piracy. The concern is now it will become a base of operations for al-Qaida.
Ethiopia to pull troops out of Somalia
“The Ethiopians are at the end of their tether because of the squabbling in the interim government, which they have backed at such enormous human and financial cost,” Rashid Abdi, Somalia expert at the International Crisis Group, told Reuters.
He said Ethiopia also was angry at the West, which gave it tacit approval to deploy there, but then let it shoulder the burden of trying to stabilise Somalia, while also criticising human rights abuses by its soldiers there.
