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Martial Law in Somalia, Ethiopian forces mass south of Mogadishu
The Somalia Battlefield on 12/29/2006. Light blue – Ethiopian & TFG advances. Green – ICU territory. Orange – recent clashes. Click image to view. Islamic Courts massing in Kismayo; ICU fighters to be pardoned; Ethiopians indicated they will stay The Ethiopian and Transitional Federal Government occupation of Mogadishu has begun. Shabelle notes that “over thousand Ethiopian troops accompanied by military vehicles” entered Mogadishu, and “hundreds of Mogadishu residents could be seen clapping and handing [wreaths] to the Ethiopian troops.” In an opinion piece about how the world views the Somali conflict, SomaliNet says the welcoming of the TFG and Ethiopian…
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Somalia
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed vows to stay in Somalia. The TFG is in discussions with local clan leaders in Mogadishu for civil governance arrangements. Ethiopia pledges troop withdrawal from Somalia within weeks.
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Somalia
[UPDATE 2]Ibrahim Adow, an ICU foreign affairs official, is said to have flown to Kenya. Other leaders are said to have “fled to Djibouti, Eritrea, and other locations.” Some ICU leaders are believed to be in Kismayo, “distributing their weapons and their fighters among the clan elders.” Yemeni forces fired on 4 boats smuggling people from Somalia, and two were sunk.
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The Islamic Courts Abandons Mogadishu
The Somalia Battlefield on 12/28/2006. Light blue – Ethiopian & TFG advances. Green – ICU territory. Orange – recent clashes. Click image to view. ICU leaders flee to unknown location; Ethiopian and TFG troops enter the capital After less than two weeks of fighting against Ethiopian and Somali government forces, the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts Union has fled the capital of Mogadishu for part unknown. Ethiopian armored columns and forces of the Transitional Federal Government have now been sighted entering the Somali capital of Mogadishu. “Hassan, an eyewitness says he now sees Ethiopian armored vehicles and tanks passing by…
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Somalia
Somalia: Air Djibouti officer found dead in Kismayo
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Somalia
The ICU has abandoned Mogadishu, and Aweys and Sharif have resigned (more at the New York Times.) al Qaeda in Iraq urges Muslims to fight in Somalia. The UN has failed in its bid to broker a peace deal with warring factions.
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Somalia
Islamists Seem to Give Up Grip on Somali City
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The Fall of the Islamic Courts
The Somalia Battlefield on 12/27/2006. Light blue – Ethiopian & TFG advances. Green – ICU territory. Orange – recent clashes. Click image to view. Aweys, Sharif, resign; the TFG and Ethiopian forces are on the outskirts of Mogadishu Nine days after the onset of open warfare between the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts and the Ethiopian backed Transitional Federal Government, the Islamic Courts have surrendered. “After having crucial and urgent meeting tonight in the capital, the leaders of executive and Shura councils of Islamic Courts Union and deputy leader of executive council of ICU, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, Sheik Sharif…
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Somalia
The Islamic Courts are retreating from strategic towns in south and central Somalia, and the Ethiopians are firing on retreating fighters. The UNSC is set to meet on Somalia today, while the African Union supports Ethiopian involvement.
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Islamic Courts in Retreat in Somalia
The Somalia Battlefield on 12/26/2006. Light blue – Ethiopian & TFG advances. Green – ICU territory. Orange – recent clashes. Click image to view. Ethiopian and TFG forces take Dinsoor, Burhakaba; ICU indicated it is planning an insurgency The Islamic Courts are in near-full retreat in central and southern Somalia after 8 days of fighting against the Ethiopian military and the Transitional Federal Government forces. Ethiopian and TFG forces have broke the cordon around western Biadoa, and have advanced as far west as Burhakaba after heavy fighting. “The [Islamic Courts] left battle wagons and large quantity of military supplies behind,”…
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Somalia
Ethiopian planes bombed Balidogle military airfield and the Mogadishu airport. European Union condemned the escalation of conflict in Somalia. The Arab League called for Ethopia to remove all of its forces.
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Somalia
Somali PM confident of victory over Islamists
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The TFG and Ethiopia Punch back in Somalia
The Somalia Battlefield on 12/25/2006. Light blue – Ethiopian & TFG advances. Green – ICU territory. Orange – recent clashes. Click image to view. The Islamic Courts has lost strategic territory as the Ethiopian Army and Transitional Federal Government marches towards Mogadishu After one full week of fighting between the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts and the internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, backed by Ethiopia, the TFG appears to be gaining the upper hand after some bloody fighting in south and central Somalia. The deciding factor at this point in time is the Ethiopian Army and Air Force.…
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Somalia
Ethiopia intervenes in Somali civil war
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The Battle of Somalia
Islamic Courts controlled cities and towns marked in red. Click map to view. The ICU attacks in Puntland and claims to have advanced to 7 miles from Baidoa, the Ethiopians strike in Beletweyn The Battle for town Baidoa, the seat of government of the beleaguered Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, and greater Somalia has entered its sixth day. Both the Ethiopian backed TFG and the al Qaeda supported Islamic Courts Union are claiming military victories during the battles on multiple fronts in central Somalia. The fog of war is making it difficult to determine the veracity of these claims.
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Somalia
The ICU claims to have captured Idale and to have killed dozens of Ethiopians. Independent journalists are supporting the claim. Artillery and mortar fire is still being reported near Idale, as ICU leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys joins the call for foreign fighters. The ICU is also complaining the Ethiopians are using “excessive force,” indicating it may be taking heavy casualties as well.
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The Battle of Baidoa
The final showdown is taking place in Somalia between the Islamic Courts Union, backed by al Qaeda, and the Transitional Federal Government, backed by Ethiopia Islamic Courts controlled cities and towns marked in red. Click map to view. For months, the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts Union has been preparing the battlefield for the final push on Baidoa, the seat of power of the internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government. In a well planned operations to militarily isolate the TFG in Baidoa, the ICU has strategically maneuvered its forces around the city, and pushed its militias into surrounding towns and along…
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Somalia
Afghanistan Again: Somalia Falling to Al Qaeda
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Somalia
Fighting continued around Baidoa in Idale, Dinsor and Daynunay Friday. Local reports indicate an Ethiopian convoy is on its way to Baidoa, which appears to be nearing its final stand.
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Somalia
ICU and al Qaeda forces under the command of Abu Talha al-Sudani launch attack on Baidoa on 3 sides – Burhakabo, Idaale and Dinsor. Both claim victory but heavy fighting continues. The ICU claims to be in control of Idaale now. Independent reports that 70 ICU and jihadists killed.
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Somalia
Somalia: Islamists suffered heavy casualties, says Puntland president
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Somalia
Fighting has been reported in the town of Idaale. The ICU is prepared to take Bardhere, and has deployed more troops on the Ethiopian border. Dozens of TFG troops have defected to the ICU. Kenya has sent a delegation to Somaliland, possibly to recognize the region as a state. Displaced families have demonstrated against the ICU in Mogadishu.
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Somalia
Guns silent as Somali Islamists’ deadline passes
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Somalia
The Khat effect: The last battle of Somalia™s Islamists
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Somalia
Fears of attack recede in Somalia
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Somalia
Somali govt lines up peacekeepers, Islamist deadline looms
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Somalia
The ICU appears to be backing down on an ultimatum for Ethiopian to withdraw from Somalia. Yemen is attempting to broker a peace agreement between the ICU and Ethiopian. A TFG minister claims no government militias defected to the Islamists. The ICU has arrested two more reporters in Mogadishu.
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Somalia
The chairman of the ICU and the TFG parliament speaker met in Yemen. A Puntland Islamic Courts is urging Somalis to fight the Ethiopians. A bomb was detonated behind a Mogadishu hotel owned by a “leading Islamic Courts ally and financer,” and may have targeted an ICU official.
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Somalia
Civilians flee the area of Baidoa as both the TFG and UIC prepare for combat. The ICU-issued deadline for Ethopians to leave the country by Tuesday draws closer. Pakistan issued a denial that it supports the UIC.
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Somalia
Thousands of ICU fighters have surrounded Baidoa, the only remaining town under the control of Somalia TFG. Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi claims that as many as 3,000 foreign fighters are fighting alongside the ICU with more arriving every day.
