Writing From the Friendly Confines

Somalia is in the midst of a jihadi takeover by the Council of Islamic Somali Courts, and the writer of this story is relying on reporters physically in Mogadishu. That's where the fun begins:

Kismayo, one of the largest cities in Somalia, fell to Islamic forces without a shot on Monday — but then the trouble started.

After the city’s warlords fled and hundreds of Islamist fighters poured in, demonstrators took to the streets and hurled stones at the Islamists.

Islamist troops responded with machine guns, opening fire on the demonstrators and killing at least one teenage boy, witnesses said.

“We don’t want the Islamic courts!” the demonstrators yelled, referring to the Council of Islamic Somali Courts, the official name of the Islamic forces.

It was the latest episode of turmoil in a country notorious for it. The Islamist forces took over Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, in June and have been expanding their reach ever since. The people of Mogadishu have by and large supported them, thankful for the stability they brought after 15 years of anarchy.

The people of Mogadishu have not supported the Islamists, and have been victimized by the Islamists regularly since they took power. Watching the World Cup resulted in being shot, and businesses closed. It's not that Somalis have supported the Islamists, it is that the Islamists have the military might and willingness to kill that have cowed people into being resigned to the fate of being dominated by the Islamists. There's a big difference, and the local reporters have done nothing to capture the flavor of the earlier reporting. And the Times once again failed to search through its own archives to find out what was going on. Far from being supportive of the jihadis, there's quite a bit of disagreement over what to do in the face of the enemy.