Tuesday - March 06, 2012
Somalia: the jihadi yo-yo
The Ethiopian army - along with Somali pro-government troops - has recently captured the key al-Shabab stronghold of Baidoa.
The BBC’s East Africa correspondent Will Ross was one of the first journalists to visit the town since its seizure from the Islamist militants.
The dark red berets of the Ethiopian army are back in Baidoa.
At the airstrip, there was plenty of military might on display: hulking tanks, heavy artillery and dozens of alert troops.
We are told Somali pro-government soldiers were backed by the Ethiopians as they seized the town from al-Shabab but it is clear who is the dominant partner in this relationship.
Inside Baidoa’s presidential palace there are signs of the just departed Islamist militants. The walls of this battered, squalid building are covered in jihadist graffiti - mostly images of guns apparently drawn by very young al-Shabab recruits.
“They preach to them, so these kids think only about jihad,” says Ethiopian army Capt Mahammud Yissak.
“We saw very small guys between eight and 12. They had been in the al-Shabab training camps. They ran away and we welcomed them. Some of them were used as couriers to plant explosives.”
The militants put up little resistance when the tanks and troops closed in on the town but since then al-Shabab has promised blood in Baidoa.
It is extraordinary to think that just over three years ago Somalis were cheering on the streets as the Ethiopian army made its very public withdrawal from the country.
That incursion ousted the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which controlled much of the country.
But the Ethiopian presence became so unpopular - partly as a result of the shelling of civilian areas of the capital, Mogadishu - that it then helped trigger the rise of the more radical al-Shabab.
“Never again” was Ethiopia’s view on another major military incursion in Somalia, but - with al-Shabab threatening the stability of the entire region - it felt forced to act.
And in a month I’m sure they’ll be the bad guys once again. Save the neighbors from the crazies, bring war down upon the fanatics, but as soon as you do it’s “hey, who blew up my mud hut? Oppressors, kick them out of our country!!”
h/t to Doc Jeff
Posted by Drew458
on 03/06/2012 at 01:14 PM
Filed Under: • Africa •
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