From the South African Sunday Times:

Fighters loyal to Somalia's Islamic courts will soon be uniformed to formalise their ranks, an official said, amid new signs the movement will enforce strict Sharia law.

Standard uniforms will be given to gunmen charged with implementing court decrees, said a spokesman for the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (Sics).

This is the first time I've heard the SICC, formally the ICU (Islamic Courts Union), called the SICS. Perhaps it is nothing, or perhaps the addition of the name of the country to the name of the movement is a step towards making the movement and Somalia synonomous, in preparation for a one-party state in the near future.

Speaking to reporters in the capital, he also warned news outlets that Islamic fighters, who had often dressed in rag-tag clothing, should no longer be referred to as "militia" given their new official and uniformed presence.

"The media should not call the Islamic court fighters as 'militia' any longer," Muddey said. "You should describe them as the Islamic court 'troops' or 'forces' if you like, but definitely not 'militia'."

Warning news outlets. Sounds vaguely ominous.

As the courts consolidate their power, they have also introduced increasingly strict Sharia law, banning makeshift cinemas and other facilities deemed un-Islamic.

What the article does not get into is what punishments will be meted out by the uniformed Islamic militia troops to those caught in acting in an un-Islamic fashion.

Meanwhile, the Transitional National Government (also known as the Transitional Federal Government) has announced a new cabinet to replace the old cabinet that was dissolved en masse because of criticism over the handling of moribund peace talks between the TNG and the SICC/SICS/ICU:

Somalia's interim Prime Minister, Ali Muhammad Gedi, on Monday appointed a 31-member cabinet, two weeks after the dissolution of the previous one amid disagreements over the premier's handling of peace talks between the transitional government and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).

President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who heads Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG), dissolved the cabinet on 7 August, a week after a vote of no-confidence in Gedi was defeated in parliament.

The following is the list of cabinet members:

1. Hussein Aideed, Interior
2. Isma'il Muhammad Hure, Foreign Affairs
3. Hassan Muhammad Nur, Finance
4. Husayn Elabe Fahiye, Planning
5. Barre Aden Shire, Defence
6. Sheikh Aden Muhammad, Justice
7. Abdullahi Sheikh Isma'il, Constitutional Affairs
8. Fowsiyo Muhammad Sheikh, Women's and Family Affairs
9. Abdullahi Abdi Garuun, National Security
10. Salim Aliyow Ibirow, Livestock and Animal Husbandry
11. Abdulkadir Nur Arale, Agriculture
12. Hassan Abshir Farah, Fisheries
13. Abdullahi Yusuf Muhammad, Energy
14. Muhammad Mahamud Guleed, Housing and Public Works
15. Ali Isma'il Abdi, Ports and Shipping
16. Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade, Air and Land Transport
17. Abdullahi Ahmed Afrah, Commerce
18. Mahamud Salad Nur, Minerals and Water resources
19. Abdirahman Abdi Waare, Education
20. Mowlid Ma'ane Mahamud, Sport and Youth Affairs
21. Salah Ali Farah, Labour
22. Abdi Muhammad Tarah, Posts and Telecommunications
23. Muhammad Abdullahi Kaamil, Industry
24. Sheikh Hassan Isma'il Bile, Religious Affairs
25. Ali Ahmed Jama, Information
26. Sa'id Hassan Shire, Reconstruction and Resettlement
27. Abdi'aziz Sheikh Yusuf, Health
28. Mahamud Abdullahi Jama, Reconciliation
29. Hussein Mahamud Sheikh Hussein, Higher Education
30. Ali Muhammad Mahamud, Tourism and Wildlife
31. Muhammad Mahamud Hay'd, Environment

I noted that Awad Ahmed Ashareh, former Minister of Religious Affairs in Puntland and a member of the TNG, is not on the list, either as Religious Affairs minister or in any other role.

A rumour has it that Ahmed Ashareh, who is opposed to Yusuf's continued role as president, is aligning himself with the Islamists. This news does not contradict that rumour, and makes one wonder if it is true. An important MP like Ashareh not in the cabinet?

Of course, readers of this blog know that I have been following the murder case of young Yasmin Ashareh. Found with her throat cut in the west-end of Toronto, I have been told that Yasmin was in fact the daughter of Ahmed Ashareh. Though a local Toronto man, William Imona-Russel, has been arrested, there are strange aspects to the case that make me wonder if there is more to the story than what we've been told.