2006 Islamic Courts Union offensive
| 2006 Islamic Courts Union offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Somali Civil War and the Global War on Terrorism | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Islamic Courts Union |
Supported by: United States | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Hassan Aweys Yusuf Indacade Hassan al-Turki |
Mohamed Dhere Botan Ise Alin Mohamed Qanyare Omar Finnish Musa Sudi Yalahow Abdi Qeybdiid Barre Hiraale Adde Muse | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
4,000 (2006) 500–1000 technicals |
6,000 soldiers 300–500 technicals | ||||||
The 2006 Islamic Courts Union offensive is the period in the Somali Civil War that began in May 2006 with the Islamic Courts Union's (ICU) conquest of Mogadishu from the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) and continued with further ICU expansion in the country.
A popular uprising occurred in support of the Courts against the Somali warlord alliance. After decisively defeated a CIA backed warlords during mid-June 2006, the ICU was propelled on the national stage for the first time.
On December 24th 2006, after the initial Ethiopian military intervention began on June 17th and full-scale war erupted on December 19th, Addis Ababa for the first time admitted to a large scale military operation in Somalia.