Somalia Military Actions

In one of these seeming paradoxes, Ethiopian military operations Christmas Day may be doing more to achieve peace on Earth than all the family and community fellowship.

Al Jazeera: Fighters were also reportedly retreating on two other fronts in the war for control of Somalia. On the northern front, government and Ethiopian soldiers entered the town of Bulo Barde, where just two weeks ago a Muslim cleric said anyone who did not pray five times a day would be executed.

Also on Monday, Ethiopian fighter jets bombed the airports of Mogadishu and Baledogle, Somalia's largest military airfield, 100km to the west. … In November, a UN arms-monitoring group reported that flights originating in Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Djibouti and Syria landed in Mogadishu and Baledogle. The UN and the Somali government said that many of the flights carried arms and military supplies for the Islamic Courts.

The monotheism of execution or conversion is marching for political power over the lands and people of Somalia. The Jerusalem Post provides a background synopsis.

Somalia nearing Islamist takeover: A new force emerged in war-torn Somalia this year under an enigmatic title, the Taliban-like Islamic Court Union, also known as the Council of Islamic Courts. Initially led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed Muhammad, this loosely-organized body of 11 autonomous courts in the capital, Mogadishu, wants to implement Sunni Shari'a in the entire country.

A typical Islamic court has three elements: a shura council composed of respected clan leaders; a chairman appointed by the shura; and a militia commander appointed by the chairman. The ICU courts are financed by a combination of "taxation" at militia checkpoints and private contributions, largely from Mogadishu businessmen who are tired of warlord rule. … Once the ICU took control of Mogadishu, it turned its attention toward the south-central city of Baidoa, the seat of the country's internationally recognized government, the Transitional Federal Government.

Surrounded by Muslim populations, Christian Ethiopia decides direct aid to the official Baidoa based government of Somalia is in their best interest. The United Nations also reacts with their own time tested method of responding to a disturbance in the peace. Diplomacy springs into action and sanctions will be adjusted post-haste.

UNSC holds emergency meeting on fighting in Somalia: The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting Tuesday on the fighting in Somalia between Ethiopian forces backing the country's weak transitional government and the powerful Islamic militia that controls most of the country.

Some say 2006 was A Good Year for Our Enemies. I would remind our enemies that our compassion and restraint are not weakness and mercy is a gift from justice.