US GUNSHIPS STRIKE TWO LOCATIONS IN SOMALIA
WITNESSES CITED MORE THAN 14 MAJOR EXPLOSIONS, GOV'T SOURCES SAY 'MANY DEAD', STRIKES TARGET ALLEGED AL-QAEDA SUSPECTS
9 January 2007

Even as Somalia is struggling to withstand a resurgence in the violence that has beset the country for over 15 years, as the transitional government attempts to establish itself in the war-torn capital, Mogadishu, after a ground invasion by neighboring Ethiopia, the United States has launched at least two airstrikes against positions in the area of Ras Kamboni, Badmadow Island, in the south of the country.

At least 14 sites were hit in one village, with residents and government sources quoted as referring to "many dead". One spokesman for the transitional government was only willing to assert that many of the dead were "Islamist fighters". The cause for the attack was information allegedly passed to US authorities that al-Qaeda linked suspects had been "spotted" in the village.

Reuters quotes a "senior Somalian government official" saying "there are so many dead bodies and animals in the village", and AP quotes Mohamed Mahmud Burale, a local resident, saying "My 4-year-old boy was killed in the strike". There has been no official declaration of war by the United States, and it is not clear if there has been any Congressional authorization for the use of force, but administration forces acknowledged they were carrying out what they termed "anti-terror" operations in Somalia.

By 4:12am ET, the Washington Post was reporting at least two separate airstrikes on locations inside Somalia (the other at Afmadow, some 155 to the north of Ras Kamboni), with no clear explanation as to the administrative process for deciding on and approving the military action against Somalia.

Even as the US military refused to comment on whether the helicopter strikes reported in Afmadow were carried out by US forces, there were reports that the strikes there took the lives of some 30 civilians, including a married couple described as newlyweds by witnesses. The US later claimed the strikes killed one suspected terrorist, with possible ties to the 1998 bombings of two US embassies, in Kenya and Tanzania.

Transitional Somali pres. Yusuf appeared to express support for the operations, and was quoted as saying the US "has a right to bombard terrorist suspects who attacked its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania". But But one analyst, cited by The Times, of London, warned against trying for what some see as "a quick fix based on false information".

The Houston Chronicle reports "Other Somalis in the capital said the attacks would increase anti-American sentiment in their largely Muslim country. Many Somalis are already upset by the presence of troops from neighboring Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population". The sectarian nature of the brewing conflict has sparked fears of a return not only to a warlord system, but of descent into civil war or prolonged guerrilla conflict.

The new UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has expressed concern about the raids, and about stability in Somalia and the welfare of the civilian population. Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, said he told Mr. Ban he felt a UN peacekeeping force would be needed to keep order in Somalia, given the current crisis. [s]

• Guardian: "US gunship bombs Somalia"
• Houston Chronicle: "Helicopters strafe al-Qaida in Somalia"
• Wash. Post: "U.S. Launches 2 Airstrikes in Somalia"
• Reuters AlertNet: "U.S. strikes at al Qaeda in Somalia, 'many dead'"
• The Times: "Analysis: US airstrikes could backfire"

BACKGROUND:
WAR TO UNDERMINE SOMALI FOOD, AID SUPPLIES
MASS REFUGEE FLOW FEARED AS COMBAT INTENSIFIES ACROSS STRIP FROM BAIDOA TO MOGADISHU
30 December 2006

After Ethiopia admitted to placing at least four thousand ground troops into Somalia, to aid the powerless 'transitional government' based in Baidoa, it became apparent that full-blown war had broken out between Somalia's neighbor and the militia of the Union of Islamic Courts, governing most of the country since early June. Now, aid groups say the fighting will disrupt efforts to get food and other aid to the millions of poor Somalis in need in the anarchic political and economic situation. [Full Story]

ETHIOPIA INVADES SOMALIA, SEEKS TO OUST UNION OF ISLAMIC COURTS
FEARS OF REGIONAL CONFLICT INFLAMED, AS ETHIOPIAN ENEMY ERITREA HAS 'TRAINERS' IN PLACE, AIDING UIC FORCES
28 December 2006

The Horn of Africa appears headed for open war, as Ethiopia has admitted, after a week of combat, that its forces are operating inside Somalia, in an effort to aid the powerless Baidoa government. Ethiopia has sided with the weak transitional government, itself exiled from the capital, while its neighbor Eritrea has provided assistance to the sectarian militia that has spent much of the year trying to pacify the country.

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) had managed to gain control of Mogadishu and much of the south and east of the country, when it consolidated its hold on civil infrastructure in June 2006. Ethiopia fears it will form an Islamist alliance with Eritrea and other regional powers and claims the UIC has territorial ambitions in southern Ethiopia. [Full Story]