By Abdi Guled and Ibrahim Mohamed

MOGADISHU, June 27, 2009 - The United States said on Thursday it had sent weapons to Somalia's government to help thwart Islamist insurgents, who cut hands and feet off thieves and paraded the severed limbs in the streets of Mogadishu.

Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents are seen as a proxy for al Qaeda and Western nations fear they could destabilize the region and provide safe havens for hardline Islamists from elsewhere.

When a moderate Islamist was elected president in January, there was hope he could end nearly two decades of bloodshed in Somalia by reconciling with hardliners who want to impose a strict version of Islamic law across the country.

But Osama bin Laden declared President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed an enemy in an audiotape released in March. He called on the insurgents to topple the Somali government and for Muslims around the world to join their jihad.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Washington was providing arms at the government's request to help it "repel the onslaught of extremist forces which are intent on .... spoiling efforts to bring peace and stability to Somalia."

Asked if the United States was afraid the government might collapse or be overwhelmed by insurgent attacks, Kelly replied: "We are concerned.

"We think that this government ... represents Somalia's best chance for peace, stability and reconciliation," he added. "In addition to this threat to the government ... this kind of violence is causing real suffering for the Somalian people and it's just prolonging the chaos and preventing the country from getting on stable footing."

The State Department said it was providing the weaponry in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions.

While the United Nations has had a long-standing arms embargo on Somalia, a May Security Council resolution urged member states to train and equip government security forces as long as a U.N. embargo monitoring committee had no objections.

Another foreign security source said weapons had come into Somalia for the government via Uganda, which provides half the 4,300 African Union troops protecting key sites in Mogadishu.

"The prospect of the government collapsing is sending alarm bells ringing in Western capitals, but whether this latest move will succeed remains to be seen," said Rashid Abdi, analyst at International Crisis Group.

"Going further than providing arms to actually sending in more foreign forces would be a mistake," he said. "The government would then play right into the hands of the militants, who would accuse them of accepting foreign meddling."

LIMBS ON TREES

Ethiopian troops intervened in late 2006 to topple an Islamist movement in Mogadishu, but the presence of troops from the neighboring nation acted more as a rebel rallying call.

The Ethiopian troops withdrew in January, but the Islamists now say they will keep on fighting until the African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi leave the country.

The al Shabaab group, which has foreign fighters in its ranks, stepped up attacks in early May. It now controls most of south Somalia and all but a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu.

The rebels used long knives to cut off a hand and a foot each from four young men in Mogadishu as punishment for theft, witnesses said. It was the first double amputation in Somalia.

The men screamed in pain, and some spectators vomited.

Al Shabaab later hung the severed limbs from trees and electricity polls.

"The horrific nature of such acts that were carried out in front of a crowd adds further injustice and dehumanizes these teenagers," rights group Amnesty International said.

Al Shabaab has carried out executions, floggings and single-limb amputations before, mainly in the southern port of Kismayu. Movies and soccer games are banned in areas it controls, and men and women cannot travel together on public transport.

Al Shabaab's strict practices have shocked many Somalis, who are traditionally moderate Muslims, although residents give the insurgents credit for restoring order to regions they control.

"We will punish like this everyone who carries out these acts," said al Shabaab official Sheikh Ali Mohamud Fidow.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

The government has launched a series of attacks this month to drive the rebels out of Mogadishu. It has failed to make headway and is relying on African Union troops to protect the presidential palace, airport and seaport.

Somalia's security minister, the Mogadishu police chief, and a legislator have all been killed this month. The insurgents are using more suicide car bombers and security sources say its roadside bombs have become more sophisticated.

The government has declared a state of emergency and called for foreign military intervention.

Somalia's neighbor Kenya ruled out any intervention on Thursday but has been beefing up security along its border.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has not ruled out sending troops back to Somalia if the situation worsens, but said there were no plans for unilateral intervention for now.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Cawthorne, David Clarke, Abdiaziz Hassan, Duncan Miriri and Frank Nyakairu in Nairobi; Tsegaye Tadesse and Barry Malone in Addis Ababa; William Maclean in London; Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; writing by David Clarke; editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: Reuters, June 25, 2009  

 

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