Islamic courts used despite "nationalisation"

Militia loyal to the Mogadishu-based faction leader, Muse Sudi Yalahow, have made arrests in the Makka and Madina districts in an effort to improve security, local press reports said on Tuesday. The 'Qaran' newspaper said 10 people had been arrested and taken to cells belonging to the Islamic courts - which still operate in the area despite attempts by the Transitional National Government (TNG) to "nationalise" all the Islamic courts. Militia loyal to Musa Sudi told local journalists that the operation was meant to restore security in southwest Mogadishu, and would include a new round of tax collection.

A spokesman for the militia said the TNG had no representation in the area, but dismissed reports that Musa Sudi himself was absent from the area because of leadership disputes, said 'Qaran' on Tuesday, in a report monitored by the BBC. The Islamic courts sprang up in Mogadishu in the early 1990s, and played a dual role. Operating under Islamic Shari'ah law, militia recruited by the courts were used to deal with criminals and provide protection, while the courts handed down sentences on offenders.

In June this year, the TNG said the courts would come under the justice ministry and cease to be an independent entity, in an attempt to set up a functioning justice system in the city. Most of the Islamic courts have since ceased to function independently from the TNG. [For more details see Dealing with the Islamic Courts http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/somalia/20010622.phtml]