Radicals Gain Edge In Somali Capital
A group of largely moderate Muslim leaders who took control of Somalia’s capital a month ago has been pushed aside in recent days by radicals determined to create a strict Islamic state there, according to Somali and other political analysts. Leading the drive has been Hassan Dahir Aweys, whom the United Nations and the United States consider a terrorist with ties to al-Qaeda. Aweys’s June 24 appointment as head of the Islamic militias ruling Mogadishu, the capital, has been followed by the installation of like-minded lieutenants in other key posts and the demotion of moderates such as the previous leader, Sharif Ahmed, analysts say. Full Story