June 2, 2007:
A month since the ceasefire in
Mogadishu, about a quarter of the 400,000 people who fled, have returned. Many
do not want to return because they belong to clans that still have Islamic
radical gunmen hiding out in Mogadishu. These gunmen would force their fellow
clan members to hide and support them, which could get very dangerous when the
shooting starts. At least a few dozen Islamic terrorists are still operating in
Mogadishu, carrying out five or six attacks a week. These involve roadside
bombs, hand grenades or firearms. The guys with the mortar were
apparently killed during the April fighting. Many men from the clan clans
native to Mogadishu rule the presence of outsiders, be they Somalis or
Ethiopians. But most of these guys are holding their fire, because they fear
retribution against the neighborhoods they live in. Everyone is hoping that the
rest of the 8,000 African Union peacekeepers will show up, and catch the few Islamic
terrorists still operating in the country.
June 1, 2007: In Puntland, two boatloads of
Islamic terrorists, most of them non-Somali, landed near a small village a few
days ago. When security forces confronted them today, there was gunfire, and
about 30 Islamic terrorists fled into the bush. An American destroyer arrived
shortly thereafter, and bombarded the suspected location of the terrorists,
with its 127mm gun. The two boats were believed to have come from a jungle area
near the Kenyan border, where many Islamic terrorists had fled to in April,
after being chased out of Mogadishu. Apparently, there are some U.S. SOCOM
(Special Operations) troops in the area, because someone has to call in the
naval gun fire.
May 31, 2007: In the southern port of
Kismayu, 800 local clan gunmen, who had been hired as security guards by the
government last year, seized the port to protest the failure of the government
to pay them. Clan elders negotiated with the gunmen, and got them to
withdraw.
May 30, 2007: About 300 kilometers north of
Mogadishu, a roadside bomb wounded five Ethiopian soldiers, and the subsequent
fire fight left four civilians dead. A senior government intelligence officials
was assassinated near his home.
May 29, 2007: After 26 days of negotiations,
an Arab cargo ship and 16 crewmen were released on the payment f $100,000
ransom. The pirates had wanted $150,000. Another group of pirates is
trying to get $700,000 for two South Korean fishing boats. This is big money in
Somalia, and encourages more piracy. In Mogadishu, a judge was murdered by a
gunman, while a policeman was killed during a fight with Islamic
terrorists.
May 28, 2007: Islamic terrorists threw two
grenades at Ethiopian troops, killing two civilians.
May 26, 2007: Pirates seized a small Indian
ship (a dhow type) off the port of Mogadishu. Somali Islamic terrorists
have produced and distributed their first suicide bomber video. It shows the
bomber declaring it dedication to the cause, then driving a vehicle off into
the distance in northern Mogadishu. The vehicle explodes, as the voice over
praises the bomber. In Mogadishu, a roadside bomb went off, leaving two
civilians dead.
May 25, 2007: Puntland, a breakaway state in
northern Somalia, got the Egyptian government to pay a large "fine"
to obtain the release of 68 Egyptian fishermen seized working off the coast of
Puntland. While Puntland is able to find and arrest Egyptian fishing boats off
its coast, such is not the case with the boats that carry over a thousand illegal
migrants to Yemen each day. The groups running these boats pay off the right
people, thus the Puntland government insists it can do nothing to stop them.