Runyam...
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Rival Islamists clash near Somali capital
Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:25am EST
By Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Rival Islamist militia have fought in a town just outside
Somalia's capital Mogadishu, illustrating splits in the forces ranged against
the government and its Ethiopian military backers.
Six people died in the shootout at a checkpoint in Elasha, 15 km (9 miles)
south of Mogadishu, on Sunday night, witnesses said, sending refugees and
residents fleeing into local woods.
The Islamists, who have been waging a nearly two-year insurgency in the Horn of
Africa nation, took Elasha last week, giving them their closest base yet to the
capital.
But they are split between the so-called "Djibouti group," which supports a
U.N.-brokered peace process that foresees power-sharing between the Islamists
and the government, and the "Asmara group" which opposes any accord.
Peace talks have been taking place in Djibouti, while some exiled hardline
Islamists leaders have been based in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.
Witnesses said two factions of the Islamic Courts Union, one of the main
Islamist groups, fired grenades and machine-guns at each other near the
checkpoint at Elasha. Two fighters from each side, plus two civilians, died,
they said.
"People shouldered their children and deserted the town at once," resident
Mohamed Hussein said.
The Islamists' advance on Mogadishu in recent days has raised the stakes in an
insurgency that is the latest manifestation of 17 years of civil conflict in
Somalia since warlords toppled a dictator in 1991.
The conflict has destabilized the Horn of Africa, created one of the world's
worst refugee crises, spawned a wave of piracy off the coast, frustrated
international peace efforts, and delayed plans to explore for oil and minerals.
GOVERNMENT SPLIT TOO
President Abdullahi Yusuf said over the weekend that Islamists now control most
of Somalia and raised the prospect his government could completely collapse.
"We are only in Mogadishu and Baidoa, where there is daily war," he said.
Baidoa is the seat of parliament, but, like Mogadishu, faces daily
guerrilla-style attacks.
Splits in the Western-backed Somali government, which has little control on the
ground beyond its own Ethiopian-protected bases, have hindered its ability to
manage the situation.
Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein blamed Yusuf for failing to approve a cabinet
reshuffle that regional heads-of-state ordered Somalia to carry out as a step
toward power-sharing.
"I am very disappointed that the president has rejected approval of the list of
cabinet ministers I submitted to him," Hussein told reporters in Nairobi during
a visit.
He accused Yusuf of his dragging his feet on the peace process.
A local Somali human rights group said fighting had killed another 325
civilians in the last two months, adding to nearly 10,000 killed since the
start of 2007. About one million of Somalia's 9 million people live as internal
refugees.
(Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by David Clarke)
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---------------
Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo
Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu
dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif.
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