ONE DARWIN AWARD, ONE COUNTRY HEADING FURTHER UP SH1T CREEK
Shan't be losing any sleep over this one - Warlord behind Beslan siege is killed in 'Russian revenge attack':Shamil Basayev, the Chechen rebel leader behind the Beslan school siege and dozens of other terrorist attacks, was killed yesterday when a truck packed with explosives blew up next to his car.Is it really less embarrassing to be blown up by your own side's explosives than to be taken out by Russian special forces? A Darwin award by proxy.
A Chechen rebel website confirmed a claim by the Russian Government that Basayev was dead — a massive victory for President Putin four days before the G8 summit in St Petersburg.
But a statement on the site insisted that Russia’s most wanted man was killed by an accidental explosion, not in a special forces operation as Russian officials had claimed.
“There was no special operation. Shamil and other brothers of ours became martyrs by the will of Allah,” it quoted Abu Umar, of the rebel parliament’s military committee, as saying. “The Chechen commander died when a truck loaded with explosives accidentally blew up.”
Meanwhile, things are looking even less rosy in Somalia:
Hundreds of fighters who were battling Somalia's Islamic militia in the capital surrendered early Tuesday after a surge of violence that killed more than 70 people and wounded 150 since Sunday, officials said.The people of Somalia are stuck between a rock and a hard place. What would you rather? Warlords or Islamic officials who state:
The fighters, loyal to secular warlord Abdi Awale Qaybdiid, turned over their arms and pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons to the Islamic militia, top Islamic commanders said. The whereabouts of Qaybdiid were not immediately clear.
"The war was inevitable because nobody can have authority in the city beyond the Islamic courts," Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a top Islamic official, said Monday.In case you missed the story of a few days ago, this particular implementation of Islam is strictly of the "Fun Is For Infidels" variety:
The militia has forbidden movies, television and music. Last week, militiamen in central Somalia fatally shot two people at the screening of a World Cup soccer broadcast banned because it violated the fighters' strict interpretation of Islamic law. They also broke up a wedding because it featured a band, and men and women socializing together.But there is some justice in the world after all:
The Islamic group that controls Somalia's capital arrested two of its own militiamen for killing two people who were watching a World Cup soccer match, the group's leader said Thursday.Well that's all right then.
The two detained militiamen allegedly shot a teenage girl and a businessman who defied their orders to stop watching the match between Italy and Germany on Tuesday.
The increasingly powerful Islamic group has forbidden some Somalis from watching television or movies, in line with its strict interpretation of Islam.
But its leader, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, whom U.S. officials have branded a terrorist, said the group has not officially banned television or movies.
The fighters will be charged with manslaughter under Islamic law, and punishment could include demands from the victims' families for compensation.
And check this for double-speak:
The Islamic group said peacekeepers may have been needed in the past, but not now. It said the question of sending in foreign troops should "be left for the Somalis to discuss."That'll be the same bunch who claim:
Meanwhile, a recruiting video issued by the group's members and obtained by The Associated Press this week shows Arab radicals fighting alongside the local extremists in Mogadishu. It invites Muslims from around the world to join in their "holy jihad."
"We believe that alien forces are both unnecessary and counterproductive," the council said in a statement distributed to the visitors. "The Somali problem is a political one, and cannot be resolved by military means."Uh-huh.
posted by Dan @ 3:53 pm
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