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GUEST: Najum Mushtaq, journalist based in Nairobi

Hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers have entered Somalia in a move designed to protect the Somali government, based in the provincial town of Baidoa. The protection is needed against expansion by Islamic fundamentalists, who took over the capital, Mogadishu and other southern towns after ousting U.S.-backed warlords from the capital in June. They have taken over parts of the country by setting up Islamic or Sharia courts and have expanded their influence into remote areas of the country. The Islamic Courts’ militia was initially thought of as being moderate. However, the hardline position of its leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys points towards a Taliban-like movement. Somalia’s interim government is the 14th attempt at central rule since the chaotic aftermath of the 1991 overthrow of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre. The government has since been powerless to stop the advance of the Islamists. It currently controls little territory outside of its base in Baidoa. Last month, 18 ministers and assistant ministers resigned and one cabinet member was fatally shot, further weakening the government.

Najum Mushtaq warns that the Islamic courts in Somalia, and their militia, are a new frontier for Jihadi Islam, and that Somalia is going the way of Afghanistan.

Read Najum Mushtaq’s article in Foreign Policy in Focus.