By request from local clan elders, Mohamed Deere, the warlord-turned-nominal mayor of Mogadishu, Somalia, has called off disarmament operations in the nominal capital, and consequently the elders "are now involved in the security of the city." Meanwhile, local militias are having some military successes against the Ethiopian invaders, who are fighting with no reported help from soldiers of the nominal Somali Transitional Federal Government.

Another thing that caught my eye today was the picture and caption that accompanied this article. The caption says "People destroy Holwadag police station in Mogadishu, October 28, 2007." The article doesn't mention that particular incident, and I haven't found any corroboration of the statement anywhere. Naturally, I want to know if this was minor vandalism or if those people actually intend to demolish the police station and maybe put something else in its place! This blog post has more pictures.

Finally, I'm not sure what to make of this, but Relief Web reports on "several cases of insecurity...in the Shabelle regions" with mostly police on the receiving end.

In Merka (Lower Shabelle), 110km south of Mogadishu, on 27 October local militia attacked a police station killing four policemen, injuring seven militia as well as six civilians. On 26 October, a senior police officer from Afgooye was killed by unknown gunmen in a village near the town and on 28 October, more clan clashes were reported in El Muluq (Middle Shabelle) with two civilians reportedly killed.

It's interesting how many journalists are referring to the insurgents as "anti-government elements" and not "Islamic fighters" or "remnants of the deposed Union of Islamic Courts (UIC)." In fact, I haven't seen any mentions recently of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, the group led by Sheik Ahmed of the UIC that met in Eritrea and was supposed to lead the effort to drive out the Ethiopians.

Questions arise, such as (1) 'to what extent, if any, are the police affiliated with the TFG?' and (2) are the opposing groups against government in general or simply against the current nominal government? Based on my limited information about the events of this past winter, I think that the police are tightly affiliated with the TFG. I also think, based on essays posted at pinr.com and other sources, that the opposing groups are very heterogeneous and therefore probably unwilling (because they are unable) to try to form a state apparatus of their own.

Or maybe they're just delusional and/or on the payroll of one or more foreign governments.