"We're more secure" - Mogadishu residents

There is a palpable air of euphoria and optimism in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, following last week's takeover of the city by the Islamic courts from an alliance of warlords, local sources said. City residents have welcomed the change, saying they feel more secure than they have in the past 16 years.

"It is like an enormous weight we have been carrying for 16 years has been lifted," said Marian, a resident in the north of the city, who requested her last name not be used. "We have been suffering under them [warlords] for 16 years. This is a welcome change."

Islamic leaders in Mogadishu claimed victory over a group of rival politicians on 5 June and pledged to restore security in the capital, where bloody clashes between the two sides have claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of people.

Some residents believe the Islamic leaders were already making good on their promises. "It was impossible to walk with any amount of money or property without being attacked" before the defeat of the warlords, said businessman Ali Muhammad. "There is a lot less insecurity today [Tuesday] than a week ago." Muhammad, who lives in the southwestern district of Medina, said that before the takeover, passenger vehicles coming into the city centre from his district had to pass through a dozen checkpoints, where they had to pay extortion to militia. "Today, we saw only one - and they were checking for weapons, not asking for money."

Militia loyal to the Islamic courts have been fighting against faction leaders, who came together under the umbrella Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, since February. More than 300 people are believed to have died in the violence, and some 1,500 others have been wounded.

Halimo Abdi, who lives near the livestock market, one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Mogadishu, said there has been a marked difference in security. "To go to the market, you had to dodge armed gangs who robbed people on their way to the market," she said. "Now we have a peaceful environment. We even dare to walk at night, something I have not done in 16 years."

In spite of the exhilaration about the changes in Mogadishu, people are still reluctant to be overly optimistic. "It has a feel of being too good to be true," said Muhammad. "Absolutely - it is the safest it has been in 16 years."

Many people in Mogadishu are wondering how long it will last, because there are still warlords in the city who would use clan identity to divide society. Clanism is still an issue in Mogadishu. "If we fall for this, we will be back to square one," Marian said. She added that the Islamic courts should remain vigilant to ensure that they, too, are not divided into clans.

Abdullahi Shirwa, of the local Civil Society in Action, concurred with Marian. "They [courts] still have to deal with those [faction leaders] still in the city, before the celebrations," he said.

The faction leaders who are still in Mogadishu, including Muse Sudi Yalahow and Bashir Rage, did not pose a military threat and "are in no position to challenge the courts", according to a local journalist. "They can be a threat if they succeed to rally their subclans, something they have so far been unable to do."

"Whatever happens after this, we have entered a new era. We know that warlords can be defeated," Marian said.