Written by The Media Line Staff
Published Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Published Wednesday, October 04, 2006
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The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) is to establish an alternative government to the one currently based in Baidoa, news agencies report. The Islamic government will be called the Upper Islamic Council, according to ICU leader Sheikh Hasan 'Dahir 'Uweis. 'Uweis told reporters that the council would eventually rule the whole country. For now, the council will unify the Islamic courts which control 27 local authorities in Somalia.
"I declare that the courts will become officially unified into one court, which will lead the country by determining what's right and what's wrong," 'Uweis said.
Since the recent civil war in Somalia began in February 2006, the ICU has gained control over most of the country's south, including the capital Mogadishu. Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was forced out of Mogadishu in June and is now based in Baidoa.
Somalia is divided between four major forces: the TFG which is rapidly losing power, the ICU, and two autonomous regions in the north – Puntland and Somaliland.
Source: The Media Line, Oct. 4, 2006