BREAKING NEWS: Somalia's Islamic militia fire on rally

[DawladSade]

International condemnation here we go.



Somalia's Islamic militia fire on rally opposed to their takeover of strategic port

NASTEEX DAHIR FARAH (Gedonet reporter waiting for the greenlight--was first to break the news through AP )
Associated Press

KISMAYO, Somalia — Islamic militia opened fire today on several thousand protesters, wounding two children who were demonstrating against the fundamentalists' takeover of a strategic Somali seaport, witnesses said today.

Islamic fighters with white bands on their heads fired toward demonstrators who had set tires ablaze in protest at the takeover of Kismayo, 260 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.

"They are ... al-Qaida and we do not want them," said protester Halimo Mohamed. "Theirs is not a religion. They are terrorists." Witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said two children were shot.

Sporadic gunfire could also be heard in parts of the town, Somalia's third largest.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4211667.html

[DawladSade]

Islamist fighters open fire at Kismayo protesters

53 minutes ago

KISMAYO, Somalia (Reuters) - Islamist fighters opened fire in the direction of protesters in Somalia's southern port of Kismayo on Monday, wounding at least two, witnesses said.

The shooting came as several thousand Somalis took to the streets shouting anti-Islamist slogans, burning tires and throwing stones in protests against the Islamist takeover of the city overnight.

Residents of Somalia's third biggest city, which lies near the Kenyan border, said some arriving Islamist fighters had stirred up an already tense atmosphere by burning the Somali national flag and raising an Islamic one.

That set off protests, after the town had previously been peaceful since the Islamists rode in on battle-wagons to take Kismayo without firing a shot, they said.

"I witnessed the Somali flag being ripped apart and burned. This is unacceptable. It will cause a big problem," said Mahad Abdullahi, a resident of Kismayo.

A Reuters witness saw thousands of men and women pouring on to the streets, shouting "We don't want the Islamic Courts" and tossing stones at trucks used by Islamist fighters.

Roads were blocked with stones and burning tires, she said.

The move into Kismayo extends the Islamists' grip after they seized the capital Mogadishu in June from U.S.-backed warlords and advanced across a swathe of the south.

Somalia's interim government regards the takeover of Kismayo as a breach of an agreement it reached with the Islamists, during talks in Khartoum, to maintain a ceasefire and stop any territorial expansion.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060925/wl_ ... tests_dc_1

[DawladSade]

Islamist takeover sparks violence in Somali port
Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:51 AM BST

By Sahra Ahmed

KISMAYO, Somalia (Reuters) - Islamist fighters opened fire in the Somali port city of Kismayo on Monday towards residents burning tyres, throwing stones and chanting to protest against the Islamist takeover of their city hours before.

Two people were injured, some witnesses said, amid sketchy reports from Somalia's third largest city.

Riding on trucks mounted with machine guns, the Mogadishu-based Islamists poured into Kismayo overnight to extend their grip on south-central Somalia and effectively flank the powerless central government on three sides.

Other than the semi-autonomous northern enclave of Puntland and the self-declared independent enclave of Somaliland, the Islamists now control all Somalia's key ports.

The government, based in the provincial town of Baidoa and with little military strength of its own, denounced the Kismayo takeover as a breach of an agreement both sides reached during peace talks in Sudan to halt further military expansion.

Residents of Kismayo, which lies near the Kenyan border, said some arriving Islamist fighters stirred up an already tense atmosphere by burning the Somali flag and raising an Islamic one.

That set off massive protests, after the town had previously been peaceful since the Islamists entered, they said.

"I witnessed the Somali flag being ripped apart and burnt. This is unacceptable. It will cause a big problem," said Mahad Abdullahi, a resident of Kismayo.

A Reuters witness saw thousands of men and women pouring on to the streets, shouting "We don't want the Islamic Courts" and tossing stones at trucks used by Islamist fighters. Roads were blocked with stones and burning tyres, she added.

PEACEKEEPER CONTROVERSY

Islamist spokesman Abdirahim Ibrahim Mudey said the movement, which took over Mogadishu from U.S.-backed warlords in June, had moved into Kismayo to prevent African troops using it as an entry point or base under a proposed peacekeeping force.

The African Union (AU) wants to send troops to Somalia in a move supported by the government but opposed by the Islamists and also denounced by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"We heard that Ugandan and Ethiopian troops were heading to Kismayo via the Kenyan-Somali border ... they should know the place they are fighting is inside Somalia, we will defend ourselves," he told Reuters.

Before the anti-Islamist protests, hundreds of residents had gathered at Kismayo's Independence Square to hear speeches from the arriving Islamist leaders and chant "No AU troops!".

The warlord in charge of the region fled late on Sunday.

Colonel Abdikadir Adan Shire, also known as Barre Hiraale, is defence minister in Somalia's weak interim government and led the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA), an independent authority that had controlled the region around Kismayo.

Mudey said Barre Hiraale was hoping for a comeback with the help of pro-government Ethiopian troops in Baidoa.

JVA authorities put up no resistance to the Islamists, some immediately promising to work with them.

Kismayo is an important fishing, agricultural and livestock centre, a relatively prosperous city in a war-shattered nation.

The Islamists' advances since June have challenged the aspirations of the Western-backed interim government of President Abdullahi Yusuf, which aims to restore central rule for the first time since warlords ousted a dictator in 1991.

(Additional reporting by Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu, Hassan Yare in Baidoa and Guled Mohamed in Nairobi)

[Gamadid.]

I see now, it is about the somali flag which was burnt that sparked the demonstration. I wonder why would someone burn the flag? People should get an apology for that incident.

Muqdisho had couple of demonstrations in the past against the courts and they amounted to nothing. This will be the same. The court must move swiftly to pour cold water on these rabshowadayaal before they get different opinions


We are counting on the Second Sayid there

[DawladSade]

Haahaa

[DawladSade]

Somali boy shot dead during Kismayo violence
25 Sep 2006 10:24:32 GMT
Source: Reuters

KISMAYO, Somalia, Sept 25 (Reuters) - A 13-year-old Somali boy was shot and killed on Monday during violent protests against the Islamist takeover of Kismayo port, residents said.

"He was shot by the Islamic courts' militias during the demonstrations," one resident, who asked not to be named, told Reuters, adding that the boy had been taking part in the protests


http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L25865748.htm

[DawladSade]

Somali Islamists take port, boy killed in protest

18 minutes ago

KISMAYO, Somalia (Reuters) - Islamist fighters opened fire in the Somali port city of Kismayo on Monday toward residents burning tires, throwing stones and chanting to protest against the Islamist takeover of their city hours before.

A 13-year-old boy was shot dead while protesting, while two other people were injured, witnesses said, amid sketchy reports from Somalia's third largest city.

"We have been taken over by extremists, the Islamic courts have taken us by force, and now they are firing at us," protester Dahabo Dirie said amid screams and gunshots.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060925/wl_ ... smayo_dc_6

[AbdiWahab252]

Dowlo, shame on Barre the runner !