Sure enough, the Islamists proved no match for Ethiopia's well-equipped army, and scattered within a few weeks. But like so many Western-backed invasions of recent years, it had two unfortunate side effects. One was to turn Mogadishu into a battlefield for the next five years. And the other was to split the Courts' more radical factions away from the influence of their more moderate ones. While the likes of Sheikh Sharif entered peaceful politics, Al Shabab went down the road of all-out insurgency, having got the message that no Islamist government would be tolerated by the West. Six years on, the knock-on effect is being felt in Nairobi's shopping malls.
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