Militia May Enter Talks in Somalia

Islamist leaders newly in control of this city offered Wednesday to hold talks with the country’s transitional government, a move some analysts said could provide the first hope of stability after 15 years of anarchy.

But the streets of Mogadishu bristled with tense, heavily armed militiamen on edge over any attempt at a counteroffensive by an alliance of rival warlords reportedly backed by the United States.

The Bush administration has not acknowledged supporting the warlords against the Islamists, although John Prendergast, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, a Washington-based independent policy organization, said that CIA financial backing for the warlords of between $100,000 and $150,000 a month was “crystal clear.”

The Islamic Courts Union, or ICU, took control of Mogadishu on Monday, driving the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism from the capital after months of fighting that killed hundreds of civilians.

Although some people trickled back into the city Wednesday, many others were leaving, fearing a counterattack. Some who remained tried to peddle milk and fruit, and others moved cautiously in cars or pushed wheelbarrows.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington on Wednesday that the Bush administration would “reserve judgment” on the new regime, but he reiterated U.S. concerns that foreign fighters were in Somalia.

“We do have very real concerns about the presence of foreign terrorists on Somali soil,” he said. “I think that that is also a concern for many Somalis as well.”

Famine and clan fighting prompted U.S. intervention in Somalia in December 1992, a mission marred the following year by a botched raid against a top warlord that left 18 U.S. Army Rangers dead, an incident made famous by the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.” American troops left in March 1994, and the country descended into chaos.

The Islamist militia has made clear its aim to establish Sharia law in Mogadishu, leading to fears of a Taliban-style regime, but the ICU chairman, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, also has promised cooperation with the global community and strongly denies any support for terrorists.

A weak transitional government, backed by the international community, has been trying to establish itself in Somalia, but it is divided and lacks power. Too weak to control Mogadishu, it is based in Baidoa, about 140 miles northwest of the capital.

Somalia’s future depends largely on whether the Islamist militia and the transitional government can forge an agreement, and whether the ICU can strengthen its grip without alienating rival clans and warlords, who may still count on foreign backing by Ethiopia or the U.S.

On Wednesday, Ahmed said the ICU was willing to meet with the transitional government, an offer later welcomed by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi.

The years of violence, extortion and roadblocks under warlords -- Somalia’s fate since the toppling of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 -- have, however, helped the Islamist militia become popular due to its efforts to create order.

Analysts see American efforts to prevent the Islamic takeover of Mogadishu as an embarrassing failure, but warn that further intervention could lead to unpredictable or catastrophic results.

“I don’t think in this world anymore it’s possible to have your way ... just because you pay some people off and give them arms,” said Michael Weinstein, a political scientist at the Chicago-based Power and Interest News Report think tank.

“I believe it’s imprudent for the United States to take sides in the Horn of Africa generally,” Weinstein said. “I don’t see complexity like this anywhere in the world. That makes it unpredictable if you intervene.”

Most warlords have fled toward the city of Jawhar, 60 miles north of Mogadishu, whereas others have defected to the Islamist side. But two potentially powerful figures remain in the capital: Muse Sudi Yalahow, fired this week from his post as trade minister in the transitional government, and Bashir Rage.

“It is not clear to me why I am fighting now because the Islamists took control of the town and defeated some strong warlords,” said Jinow Hassan, 28, one of Rage’s fighters, promising to fight as a guerrilla against the ICU.

Until 10 days ago, Yahya Osman, 25, was a student who avoided the fighting, but he joined the Islamists after his mother and brother were killed when a missile struck their house. “I decided to take a gun and fight against the warlords who killed my mother and younger brother, and I will take revenge if ever I see any militia of the warlords,” he declared.

In the streets, some ordinary Somalis saw the ICU as the country’s only hope, whereas others feared a strict Islamic regime. Some were afraid there would be more fighting.

“The warlords were always extorting money,” said Muse Osman, 32, a driver who sees the Islamic Courts Union as the path to stability. “The Courts are suitable to lead the country. They are not terrorists. They are standing for the restoration of law and order in the country.”

But some fear life under Sharia law. Anad Osoble, 22, said the ICU leaders were preferable to warlords, “but their militancy will lead them to impose sanctions on the people like the Taliban did in Afghanistan.”

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Special correspondent Albadri reported from Mogadishu and Times staff writer Dixon from Johannesburg, South Africa.