Somali Islamists declare war on 'infidels', warlords set for battle

[ECH1969]

Islamists holding much of the lawless Somali capital declared war on "infidels" as a battered US-backed warlord alliance which they have been fighting girded for new clashes.

With the two sides locked in a tense standoff outside the alliance's last remaining stronghold north of the city, and holdout warlords refusing to accept Islamic control of Mogadishu, elders frantically appealed for peace.

Mogadishu's most senior Muslim cleric, Sheikh Nur Barud, called on Somalis to crush secular resistance to the imposition of Sharia law and to reject warlord efforts to garner support by appealing to clan and tribal loyalties. "This fighting is between those who support Islam, and godless invaders and those who support them," Barud said.

US President George W. Bush expressed concern about the fall of most of Mogadishu to Islamist forces a day earlier and said Washington would ensure Somalia did not become a haven for terrorists. The chairman of Mogadishu's Islamic court union, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, warned that US intervention would face a disaster similar to a botched 1993 operation that left 18 US servicemen and 300 Somalis dead.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060607/ts_afp/somaliaunrest_060607195045

[Eugene]

1. BBC: US cool on Somali terror denial

Last Updated: Thursday, 8 June 2006, 08:48 GMT 09:48 UK

US cool on Somali terror denial

The United States has said it will "reserve judgement" after the Islamist militia
in charge of the Somali capital strongly denied supporting terrorism.

A US State Department spokesman said the Union of Islamic Courts was not a
"monolithic" group.

The Islamist leader on Wednesday tried to calm western fears by sending a letter
to foreign diplomats saying they were not "harbouring any terrorists".

<snip>

Meanwhile, Islamic courts chairman Sharif Shaikh Ahmed has told Reuters news agency
that his forces have no plans to attack the town of Jowhar, some 90km (58miles)
north of the capital, where some of the remaining warlords have fled.

<snip>

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5058330.stm

[Igel]

2. Of course it's a war against

infidels.

Anybody that refuses to submit to the clerics is infidel by definition. Submission is the name of the game; unfortunately, it's no game.