Somalia: U.S. Warship Bombards Islamic Terrorists

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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.

 

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