SRSYG FRANCOIS FALL WORRIED ABOUT ISLAMIC COURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 002454 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2026 TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL ASEC KPAO SO KE SUBJECT: SRSYG FRANCOIS FALL WORRIED ABOUT ISLAMIC COURT MILITIAS Classified By: Ambassador William M. Bellamy for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SRSYG for Somalia Amb. Francois Fall called me June 5 to voice concern over reports that the Islamic Court militias were gaining ground in Mogadishu and southern Somalia and may soon be in a position to establish their own government. Fall was worried about Islamists' longstanding opposition to the Transitional Federal Institutions and Transitional Federal Government, as well as their extremist ties, including close ties to the east Africa Al-Qaeda cell. ¶2. (C) Fall plans to try to arrange a meeting with Islamic Court authorities in coming days, possibly on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Fall thinks it is important to gain some understanding of what the Islamic Court's intentions are. He is worried, he said, about the emergence of a "Taliban-style" situation in Mogadishu in which Islamic extremists, posing as the liberators of a population long-repressed by unpopular warlords, establish governmental control and begin construction of a jihadist state. ¶3. (C) I told Fall I could see no harm in the UN trying to make contact with leaders of the Islamic courts in order to try to discover their true intentions. We agreed to stay in close contact. BELLAMY