Last US-backed warlord surrenders to Somali Islamists

Abdi Awale Qaybdiid is believed to have fled after scores of his troops handed over their weapons. "It has become necessary to surrender and give peace a chance," a militiaman loyal to Qaybdiid said.

He was the last of an alliance of warlords backed by the United States which claimed to have formed an anti-terrorism coalition. The group had been fighting the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), a group of Islamists which wants to bring sharia law to the whole of Somalia - a country that has been lawless and leaderless since 1991.

The US claimed that the UIC was harbouring suspected al-Qa'ida terrorists. In an effort to prevent Somalia becoming a "safe haven" for al-Qa'ida, the US gave support to the very same warlords that had driven American troops out of Somalia in 1993 after 18 US Army Rangers were killed in an incident later made into a Hollywood film.

The Islamists seized most of Mogadishu after heavy fighting in June. Qaybdiid was the only warlord to continue to hold out.

The moderate Islamist leader, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, said that the latest victory would bring stability to Somalia's capital. "From today onwards, we promise the world that this city is safe," Sheikh Ahmed said. "We need to overcome tribalism and the Somali enemies. There are so many enemies and in order to defend ourselves against them we need to unite."

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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article1173245.ece