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SOMALIA: IN THE VERGE OF RENEWED CIVIL WAR July 9, 2005
<|somalia_map.jpg|Somalia Map|left|>The new government started its term by building a new army in hopes of overpowering Mogadishu militia leaders eventually. The president and the prime minister repeatedly said their government and the nation will not be held hostage by clan based militias who have strangled Somalia for the past fifteen years. They are now recruiting former military and police soldiers and young men throughout the country primarily from Bossaso to Galkacyo in the north, Beledweyne to Jowhar in the central and from Hudur to Kismayo in the south.
Mogadishu militia leaders who defeated Siad Barre and UNISOM are not budging a bit. Although they are often on one another’s throats, they know how to unite and form a united front when a common enemy is identified. They incorporated their militias and heavy weaponry, and plan to have a central command at least until the new government is not a thread anymore.
The president’s name has become synonymous with war and he has been fighting since 1977. He was a colonel and one of the leaders in 1977 Somalia and Ethiopia war. Then he fled to Ethiopia after a failed coup he and his comrades attempted against then president Mohamed Said Barre. He controlled a good junk of the nation, Puntland before he was elected as an interim national president after two years of national reconciliation conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Mogadishu powerful warlords left Kenya soon after he was inaugurated and started to mobilize their militia for possible showdown.
The two camps clashed in Baydhabo city and Mogadishu guys came out victorious after a short battle. Defeated pro-government militias regrouped but failed their second attempt to capture the city.
Other flashpoints include Jowhar, the interim national capital where the government is based now. This city is about 90KM away from the capital and Mogadishu men can attack it anytime. Beledweyne and Galkacyo are also pro-government thus possible targets. The government is mobilizing thousands of men in an effort to wage war against Mogadishu anti-government armed leaders.
What worries the average Somalis is that a renewed civil war followed each national conciliation attempt. The worst was when businessman Ali Mahdi Mohamed was elected in 1992 and General Mohamed Farah Aidid answered with bullets. Many analysts say Somalia is going toward another civil war.