Islamic law vowed by fighters in Somalia
As they advanced to one of the only areas they don't control, they pledge a stricter hand.
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Advancing ever closer to Somalia's beleaguered capital, heavily armed Islamic fighters declared yesterday they would use strict Muslim rules to bring their lawless country back under control.
The latest conquest by Islamic forces came late Wednesday in Elasha, 10 miles from the capital of Mogadishu. Thousands of people who have fled a bloody two-year insurgency are living there in flimsy huts made of sticks and plastic tarp.
Islamic fighters control most of southern and central Somalia, with the crucial exceptions of Mogadishu and Baidoa, where the parliament for Somalia's weak, U.N.- backed government sits.
Further complicating the situation, Ethiopia, which has backed Somalia in its fight against the groups, has pulled back from some positions as part of a peace deal with moderate Islamists. The Ethiopian regime says it wants to withdraw, but others believe it has calculated that an occupation of Somalia is better than having a radical Islamist regime next door.
The insurgents, who are fighting to enforce sharia law in Somalia, are not a homogenous group. Al-Shabab, which the U.S. considers a terror group because of its leaders' alleged links to al-Qaeda, controls the most territory. Elasha was taken over by more moderate fighters.
"Our fighters have taken control of the area to provide security for the displaced people" suffering under the constant fighting, said Abdirahin Isse Adow, a spokesman for the Islamist forces in Elasha.
In contrast, al-Shabab in recent weeks has carried out a public execution by stoning - reportedly of a 13-year-old gang-rape victim - and lashings of alleged thieves.
"We inform you that from today on, all areas under our control will be ruled by Islam," al-Shabab commander Sheikh Abukar told residents of Merka yesterday, one day after taking over the key port town without firing a shot. "We will change the behavior of the youth here."
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a socialist dictator and turned their clan-based militias against one another.
The battles have devastated the impoverished nation - half the population is expected to be dependent on food aid by the end of the year.