Jihadis crumble as Ethiopians advance on Mogadishu
Allahpundit

Can we get a few battalions of Ethiopians in Iraq?

Islamist forces in Somalia beat a hasty retreat today to their stronghold in Mogadishu, Somalia’s battle-scared capital, crumbling faster than anyone expected after a week of attacks by Ethiopian forces…

The Islamist fighters, who had seemed invincible after taking Mogadishu in June, now seem powerless to stop the steady advance of the Ethiopian-backed forces of the transitional government…

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See also: Me No Understand Somalia Advice

*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 2006.12.26.16.51

Somali Islamists Still Getting Butts Kicked
See-Dubya

Ethiopia’s trying to beat Israel’s six-day record. Their army is fifteen miles from Mogadishu, and the Islamists are turning tail:

The young fighters of the Shebab, the backbone of the Islamists’ army, whose name comes from the Arabic word for youth, are deserting in droves.

“We can’t resist,” said Musa Abdullahi, 18, who quit his unit after half his comrades were cut down by Ethiopian helicopter gunships. “We thought this fighting would be like the others. It’s not.”

It’s hard when there are armed men with guns shooting back at you instead of women and children running away, Musa.

And here’s one for the “war never solves anything” crowd:

…the goodwill they [the Islamists] earned is being sapped away by their decision to attack the transitional government and declare a holy war against Christian-led Ethiopia. That provoked a crushing counterattack by the Ethiopians, who have the strongest military in East Africa and have sided with the transitional government because Ethiopia views the Islamists as a threat to its own security. ...

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Josh Trevino has an excellent related post here.

*** Update and bump. Previous timestamp 2006.12.27.18:30

Islamists withdraw from Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) -- A top Somali Islamist leader said on Thursday that all Islamist forces had withdrawn from the capital Mogadishu.

"We have withdrawn all the leaders and members who worked in the capital," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Al Jazeera television by telephone.

He said the Somali Islamists remained united and explained the move as a change in tactics in its war against Ethiopian troops, defending the weak interim government.

The retreat came hours after a joint force of Ethiopian and Somali government troops advanced to just 30 km (18 miles) from Mogadishu, threatening to besiege the capital rather than attack it. ...

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Islamic Forces Abandon Mogadishu, Clan Militia Takes Control

MOGADISHU, Somalia —  Somalia's Islamic movement abandoned the nation's capital on Thursday, and clan militiamen poured into the streets to take control of Mogadishu, as government forces approached to within 18 miles.

Gunfire echoed through the streets and hundreds of gunmen, who just hours earlier fought for Quranic rule, took off their Islamic uniforms and submitted to the command of clan elders, an AP reporter in Mogadishu said. Some began looting Islamic courts' bases and buildings belonging to Islamic courts officials, witnesses said.  ...

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The Fall of Islamist Somalia
Bryan Preston

It’s been tough over the past couple of days not to stand up and do a little dance of joy over Ethiopia’s so far masterful efforts in Somalia. Ethiopia very correctly recognized that the United Islamic Courts, the al Qaeda-backed Islamist movement that took control of Mogadishu and most of Somalia this past summer, represents a threat. So Ethiopia acted. And now Bill Roggio reports that Mogadishu has fallen to the Ethiopian and transitional Somali government forces.

Nine days after the onset of open warfare between the al-Qaeda backed Islamic Courts and the Ethiopian backed Transitional Federal Government, the Islamic Courts have surrendered. “After having crucial and urgent meeting tonight in the capital, the leaders of executive and Shura councils of Islamic Courts Union and deputy leader of executive council of ICU, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and Sheik Abdirahman Janaqow resigned and issued a joint press statement over the current situation in Somalia particular in Mogadishu,” reports SomaliNet.

There should be no allowance for any cease-fire talks until the Islamists are well and truly crushed. Keep the UN and the Arab League as far from this fight as possible until it’s truly finished. The Ethiopians and the transitional Somali government forces, fighting together against the Islamists in spite of a history of war between Ethiopia and Somalia, should not make the same mistake Israel and the US have made in Lebanon and Iraq and Afghanistan. They should win the fight outright and dictate terms to the surviving Islamists. Foreign fighters should either be imprisoned and tried for their crimes or, well, imprisoned and tried for their crimes. Anything less, and the Islamists will go to ground and come back with an insurgency in a few months or a year. ...

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Great related commentary here, here and here.

*** Update and bump. Previous timestamp 02:14.

Mogadipshit Taken by Ethiopia
Emporer Darth Misha

Thanks to LC Scott for informing us of this:

Triumphant Somali government forces and their Ethiopian allies marched into Mogadishu after their Islamist rivals abandoned the city.

The flight of the Islamists, who had controlled the Somali capital for six months, represents a dramatic turn-around in the wartorn nation.

How does it feel to be running like rabbits, Pisslamists? You realize that you’ll only die tired, don’t you?

Some Mogadishu residents greeted the arriving government troops, while others hid.

They probably had good reason to hide as well. But, but, weren’t you supposed to face the infidels bravely, greeting martyrdom with a smile on your lips, embracing death and your reward of 72 virgin goats? Come out of hiding, you silly fucks, come out and die. You know you want to.

Parts of the city shook with the sound of gunfire and there were outbreaks of looting after leaders of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) fled its base early in the morning.

“In the name of Allah, the merciful: RUN AWAAAAAY!!!” ...