Unreported World

Westerners are completely absent from Mogadishu, with the situation even more precarious for journalists following the murder of cameraman Martin Adler, shot by an unidentified hit man at an anti-American public rally in June. Reporters Barnwell and Hartley are forced to work under constant threat of assassination from various factions.

Beginning their journey in Mogadishu, it's immediately clear that militants, known as the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), have seized the capital and are extending their power using force and religious persuasion. While Western powers failed to bring law and order to even a few blocks of Mogadishu and rescue Somalia from years of anarchy - and 500,000 deaths - the UIC has been winning the hearts and minds of ordinary Somalis by quickly-brought, real improvements to their lives.

Within weeks of taking control of Mogadishu earlier this year, the UIC ended the anarchy in both the capital and hinterland. Backed by the Somali business tycoons who are their main financiers, they have reopened the seaports, airports and roads that were closed for more than a decade by vicious rival clan gangs. Unreported World reveals how the economy appears to be reviving, schools are full, hospitals seem quieter, mosques are being repaired, piracy on the high seas is being stamped out and streets are being cleaned of battle damage.

However, the programme also reveals that Wahhabi hardliners who dominate the Jihadist movement are starting to establish a Taliban-style state that is anathema to the moderate, mostly Sufi traditions of Somalia's Sunnis. A centralised Sharia court system is sending murderers to the firing squad, and the militants are attempting to force women to wear the veil, banning public entertainment such as TV, cinema and music, as well as trying to outlaw the stimulant leaf qat, cigarettes and long hair.

The international community refuses to engage with the UIC because among its leaders are men linked to al Qaeda, and Osama bin Laden has described the Islamic militia as an ally in his global jihad. Western intelligence fears they may also be radicalising young Somalis in preparation for terror attacks.

For his part, the UIC's supreme leader, Shaykh Hasan Dahir Aweys, says that 9/11 was a legitimate military tactic of war. The Jihadists tell Hartley that their aim is to seize the rest of Somalia and expand jihad across Africa's Horn.

In response, the Ethiopian government has deployed forces on a battle footing to the inland village of Baidoa. This pocket of territory, a few kilometres wide, is where Somalia's legal, pro-Western and secularist 'President' Abdullahi Yusuf has made his last stand together with his warlord allies. Peace talks between the warring sides have collapsed and the United Nations blames 10 separate nations for pouring weapons and troops into Somalia. This fresh Horn of Africa conflict has already started, and it pits Jihadists against Western-backed Christians in a clash which threatens the whole stability of the region.