The Second Battle of Mogadishu was a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

fought for control of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

's capital city,

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

. The opposing forces were the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), and militia loyal to the

Islamic Courts Union The Islamic Courts Union ( so, Midowga Maxkamadaha Islaamiga) was a legal and political organization formed to address the lawlessness that had been gripping Somalia since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 during the Somali Civil War. Th ...

(ICU). The conflict began in mid-February 2006, when Somali

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

s formed the ARPCT to challenge the ICU's emerging influence. The ICU's influence was largely generated by wealthy financial donors who sought to enable the Islamic Courts Union to seize power in the country to bring stability. The battle is referred to as the Second Battle to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades-long

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the Military dictatorship, military junta wh ...

. It was found after the battle that the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

was funding the ARPCT due to concerns that the ICU had ties to

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

. The ICU militia won control of Mogadishu and ARPCT forces left the city.

Background

In 2005, it was reported that multiple independent Islamic courts had started to work cooperatively under the umbrella of

Shariah Law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and th ...

, which would then become the

. This movement then seize power of

, creating an Islamic movement throughout Somalia. This cooperation among Islamic courts caused Somalian warlords and businessmen to band together and form the

ARPCT The Somali Warlord Alliance, officially called the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (abbreviated ARPCT; so, Isbaheysiga Ladagaalanka Argagaxisadda) was a Somali alliance created by various somali warlords and businessm ...

, with the support of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n aid. After this unification, the members began to mobilize in order to prevent an Islamic movement from taking full power over the capital city. The ARPCT began by conducting various attacks and kidnappings in early 2006, but as the year went on these aggressions caused a conflict to arise.

Battle

In May 2006, the fighting intensified between warlords and militia loyal to ICU, which controlled around 80% of the city. There had been previous conflict throughout Somalia involving the

, but nothing that lasted more than a few days, so the outbreak and continuity of this battle signified that it was, in fact, a change from the previous state. On 4 June 2006, the ICU seized Balad, 30 miles north of Mogadishu. Balad had previously been under the control of forces loyal to

Musa Sudi Yalahow Muse Sudi Yalahow ( so, Muuse Suudi Yalaxoow; Arabic: موسى سودي يالاهو) was a Trade Minister in the Transitional Government of Ali Mohammed Ghedi. He was dismissed in June 2006 after ignoring government requests to halt fighting with t ...

. By the end of the conflict, it was reported that around 350 people had been killed, with thousands displaced. On 5 June 2006, Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi fired four ministers (who were also clan leaders) whose private armies were involved in the fighting. Gedi fired National Security Minister

Mohamed Afrah Qanyare Mohamed Qanyare Afrah ( so, Maxamed Qanyare Afrax, ar, محمد افراح قنياري}(1941) was a Somali faction leader and politician who was based south of Mogadishu in the Daynile District. He came in third position in Somalia's first el ...

, Commerce Minister

, Militia Rehabilitation Minister

Botan Ise Alin Mohamed Botan ( so, Bootaan Ciise Caalin) was a Somali rebel leader, formerly based in Mogadishu, and a former member of the Somali Transitional Government, in which he was minister for the disarmament of militias. He was also a member of the Allia ...

and Religious Affairs Minister

Omar Muhamoud Finnish Omar Mohamud Mohamed ( so, Cumar Maxamuud Maxamed) is a Somali politician and former warlord known as Omar Finnish (sometimes spelled Filish). He is the former Mayor of Mogadishu and Governor of Banaadir. He was appointed on 22 August 2019 by Soma ...

, according to government spokesman

Abdirahman Nur Mohamed Dinari Abd al-Rahman ( ar, عبد الرحمن, translit=ʿAbd al-Raḥmān or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman''; also Abdul Rahman) is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' ...

. He also invited the Islamic courts for talks. On 5 June 2006,

Sheikh Sharif Ahmed Sharif Sheikh Ahmed ( so, Shariif Sheekh Axmed, ar, شريف شيخ أحمد; born 25 July 1964) is a Somali politician who served as President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. He is the founder and leader of Himilo Qaran political party and ...

, the ICU's chairman, reportedly seized Mogadishu, saying in a radio broadcast: "We won the fight against the enemy of Islam. Mogadishu is under control of its people." The ICU's success has been attributed to the Islamic movement's ability to transcend clan politics. Following Mogadishu's fall, there were two competing rallies. Mogadishu's largest clan, the Abgaal, held a rally in the city's northern part, reportedly drawing about 3000. AP reports the demonstrators shouting "We don't need Islamic deception!" and "We don't want Islamic courts, we want peace!" There was a competing rally in support of the ICU. At that rally, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed is quoted as saying "Until we get the Islamic state, we will continue with the Islamic struggle in Somalia," to a crowd of about 500. With the decisive loss to the

Islamic courts union The Islamic Courts Union ( so, Midowga Maxkamadaha Islaamiga) was a legal and political organization formed to address the lawlessness that had been gripping Somalia since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 during the Somali Civil War. Th ...

, the TFG removed 4 prominent ARPCT members from their positions within the TFG. The ARPCT's remaining forces are said to have fled to

Jowhar Jowhar ( so, Jowhar, ar, جوهر) is the capital city of Hirshabelle state of Somalia. Jowhar is also the administrative capital of Middle Shabelle Regions of Somalia, region of Somalia. Along with Baidoa, it used to form the joint adminis ...

. A member of the ARPCT coalition said that the coalition has "no immediate plans," following their decisive loss. On 14 June 2006, following a stand-off that lasted for approximately eight days, the ICU reportedly attacked the remaining ARPCT forces in Jowhar,

rout A rout is a panicked, disorderly and undisciplined retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale (''esprit de corps''). History Historically, lightly-equi ...

ing them and seizing the town. Ali Mohamed Gedi has since then requested peacekeeping forces from the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

, and neighboring states such as

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

have imposed sanctions on the fleeing warlords, barring them entry into their lands.

Legacy

Ali Mohamed Gedi has since requested peacekeeping forces from the

, and neighboring states such as

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

have imposed sanctions on the fleeing warlords, barring them entry into their lands. In December 2006,

declared war on the victor of the battle, the ICU. In addition to the long-standing tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia over land claim, the Ethiopian government did not look favorably on the ICU being in power in Somalia. This conflict was short lived, falling in favor of Ethiopia.

United States support for ARPCT

Michael Zorick (the U.S. State Department's political officer for Somalia), who had been stationed in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, was reassigned to

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

after he sent a cable to Washington criticizing Washington's policy of paying Somali warlords. The Times stated, "The American activities in Somalia have been approved by top officials in Washington and were reaffirmed during a

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

meeting about Somalia in March." On 7 June 2006, the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

's president and current

head,

Denis Sassou-Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as p ...

, criticized the United States for its involvement in fighting in Mogadishu following his meeting with President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

.AU chair lashes US over Somalia
ANDnetwork 7 June 2006

References

External links

Death toll climbs as Mogadishu fighting intensifies
AFP, 9 May 2006

''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'', 10 May 2006
From Clan Fighting to Ideological Battleground
UN

Integrated Regional Information Networks The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News, or Integrated Regional Information Networks News) is an independent, non-profit news agency focusing on humanitarian stories in regions that are often forgotten, under-reported, misunderstood or ignored. ...

, 11 May 2006
Illegal Arms Continue to Fuel Factional Fighting
UN

, 12 May 2006
Bloody street battles in Somalia
CNN, 13 May 2006
Warring Somali ministers warned
BBC News, 13 May 2006

Shabelle News Network, 15 May 2006

Shabelle News Network, 15 May 2006

UN News Service, 16 May 2006

''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', 17 May 2006
Renewed Fighting Claims 11 in Mogadishu
UN

, 25 May 2006
Islamic Force, Warlords Clash in Somalia
Associated Press, 27 May 2006

ogrish.com, updated 28 May 2006

Shabelle Media Network, 2 June 2006

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...