SUNDAY EDITORIAL | Many Somalis did not trust ICU leaders like Yusuf Indha Ade – a longtime warlord.

When Somalia's Islamic Courts Union (ICU) first rose to power in 2006, the group's rapid burst of political and military gains across the war-torn country fascinated Somalis and the world alike. This seemingly-dysfunctional alliance of clan-based courts not only defeated Mogadishu's notorious warlords, who were funded by the American CIA, but established six months of law and order unseen since the collapse of Gen. Barre's regime in 1991. The U.S. and Ethiopian governments accused the ICU of harboring wanted terrorists – a charge used to justify the invasion and occupation of Somalia. But for many Somalis, the ICU represented a political anomaly that was expected to effectively dispense justice to a country whose social core was torn apart of years of civil conflict and a political landscape marked by disintegration.

The ICU made commendable efforts to reintegrate Somali society, including promoting inter-marriages between major clans and so-called "outcast" clans. The reopening of vital economic routes, such as major roads and ports, further helped in facilitating trade between regions or towns that had been cut off from each other for years, due to rival warlords or clan grievances. Despite such admirable acts, the ICU failed to secure Somalia during the momentum of Islamic revolution and was crushed by the Ethiopian army during a two-week war in December 2006.

Many Somalis did not trust ICU leaders like Yusuf Indha Ade – a longtime warlord who used clan ties to cleverly melt into the ICU leadership structure. His powerbase in Lower Shabelle was protected by senior leaders, namely Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who once compared Indha Ade's autocratic rule in Lower Shabelle to elected officials in Somaliland and Puntland. As the ICU's defense secretary, Indha Ade loudly declared war on Ethiopia but flew to Saudi Arabia when hostilities erupted.

This is a man of chameleon-like qualities. After Ethiopian-backed Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops took control of Mogadishu, Kismayo and other towns, Indha Ade's henchmen in Lower Shabelle region easily switched shirts and declared themselves to be the "regional police force." Until one of their own was killed. The assassination of Indha Ade lieutenant Nuriye Ali Farah on October 28 in Marka, capital of Lower Shabelle, marked a turning point for relations between Indha Ade and the ICU's al Shabaab faction. No longer was Sheikh Aweys able to protect his clan-cousin, who milked profits from Lower Shabelle airfields, ports and taxes.

The natives of Lower Shabelle have been disproportionately subjected to brutal war crimes since 1991, when armed clans invaded the region and subjugated the unarmed native clans. Before Indha Ade, other warlords brutalized the region and planted illegal drugs. Osman Atto and Mohamed Qanyare – two of Mogadishu's despised ex-warlords and now TFG lawmakers – were reported to have established a flouring drug trade using the fertile fields of Lower Shabelle. Between 2000 and 2004, Col. Amin who was the anti-drug chief for the Transitional National Government (TNF) of President Abdiqassim Salat publicly reported that drug production in Lower Shabelle had reached industry-grade level, with profitable exports abroad.

For this troubled region, the beginning of justice will be the complete destruction of drug farms and other facilities where illegal drugs are manufactured. The land and the farms must be returned to its rightful owners or the rightful owners must be compensated accordingly. Al Shabaab commanders in Marka and other main towns in Lower Shabelle have already shown willingness to settle land disputes under Islamic law. Historically, violent land disputes have been at the root of Somali clan conflicts for centuries and the civil war dramatically worsened the situation.

As Ethiopia ponders withdrawal, a new reality will emerge in Somalia with Islamist forces continuing to play a key role in the country's politics. But the survival of Islamists in a clan-based and segmented society will largely depend on their ability to rule effectively and to deliver justice to the masses.

If Somalis get that, war and poverty will be history.

Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com