U.S. said to back Somali warlords girding to fight Islamic radicals

NAIROBI, Kenya — The United States is backing a new coalition of Somali militants fighting Islamic extremists for control of the lawless nation's capital, a U.S. official said, as both sides prepared for a battle that could explode in widespread violence.

Clan leaders have put aside their traditional rivalries to take on the extremists, whom they describe as terrorists. The extremists, though, say they can offer unity and order after decades of chaos in Somalia.

Residents say both sides have recently received an infusion of cash and weapons as they face off for control of the country, which has had no central government since warlords divided it into clan-based fiefdoms in 1991.

The State Department said in March that the U.S. government was concerned about "al-Qaida fugitives responsible for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam [in Tanzania] and the November 2002 bombing of a tourist hotel and attack on a civilian airliner in Kenya, who are believed to be operating in and around Somalia."

While there have been numerous reports of al-Qaida bombers hiding in the Horn of Africa nation, only recently have they been reportedly involved in fighting alongside Somali extremists.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said prominent al-Qaida leaders with large cash bounties on their heads are under the protection of the extremist leaders in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. He did not name them, but eight men wanted in the embassy bombings are on the FBI most-wanted list.

Not particular about allies

The same official, who monitors the situation in Somalia, also repeated the long-standing U.S. policy of working with anyone willing to cooperate in the fight against al-Qaida, adding that U.S. officials had made contact with a variety of Somalis. He declined to say what support the U.S. was supplying.

Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, who leads a new transitional government, said clan leaders fighting the Islamic group were not acting on his authority, though he said his government was cooperating with the United States.

The U.S. has long worried about al-Qaida and other terrorist groups finding a haven in Somalia. For years, though, clan rivalries may have kept outsiders from gaining a foothold. The Islamic extremists appear to be capitalizing on the Somali people's frustration with disorder and instability.

Hassan Dahir Aweys, a religious leader and retired army officer whom the U.S. government says has connections to al-Qaida, has emerged within the last year as the leader of a new group, the Union of Islamic Courts. The group has recently acquired a large arsenal and a skilled militia.

"Islam is itself a policy which God created for the people to rule each other," Aweys said. "We will have to liberate our people from these warlords who have been shedding our people's blood for the past 15 years."

Aweys does not deny past contacts with Osama bin Laden but says he has no links now with bin Laden or al-Qaida.

A U.N. report on violations of the Somalia arms embargo said Aweys has been receiving weapons from a nearby country but did not identify it or who paid for the arms.

Last month, the Islamic union's forces beat back militiamen loyal to warlords who have held power for most of the past 15 years and have joined the new government. The Islamic union's forces captured a small airport and a strategic road to the vital El-Ma'an port, through which almost all trade with Mogadishu passes. The four days of fighting left more than 80 people dead and 200 injured.

Since then, hundreds of heavily armed Islamic fighters have been building defensive positions in Mogadishu, residents said. They have threatened to kill anyone who cooperates with non-Muslims, and several high-profile intellectuals have been slain for their contacts with Westerners, so witnesses agreed to speak only if they were not named.

Residents also said that they were stockpiling food and water in anticipation of a major battle.

Aweys, who went into hiding after the Sept. 11 attacks and re-emerged in August 2005, has condemned the new United Nations-backed transitional government. The top Cabinet members are a who's who of former warlords, but the transitional government has taken control only of a small portion of the nation of 7 million.

In an apparent response to the Islamic extremist challenge, several key warlords in the new government have formed the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism.

Hussein Gutaleh Ragheh, the alliance's spokesman, said its goal is to capture al-Qaida members who have come to Somalia from Sudan, Yemen and other countries.

Arms from across border

In a few months, the alliance has gone from a disparate group of clan-based warriors to one of the most powerful militias in Somalia. Residents of alliance-held areas report trucks full of weapons arriving from neighboring Ethiopia for the anti-extremist alliance. The source of the weapons was not clear.

Somalis with connections to the alliance have said that U.S. officials have frequently visited Mohamed Dhere, a governor in the new administration, and other alliance leaders. Aweys said he believes they are CIA agents who have financed the alliance's sudden increase in cash, a rumor widely accepted among Somalis.

The CIA declined to comment on any matter concerning Somalia.