The Islamic Courts Union was a legal and political organization founded by Mogadishu-based Sharia courts during the early 2000s to combat the lawlessness stemming from the Somali Civil War. By mid-to-
Crowds gather for the reopening of the Mosque of Islamic Solidarity (Masjidka Isbahaysiga) in Mogadishu on 18 August 2006
Prof. Ibrahim Hassan Adow, appointed head of the Foreign Affairs department for the union. He had previously worked as an administrator at the American University in Washington, D.C., before returning to Somalia in 1999.
Banners at an ICU rally against the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, one of which reads "Let us support the steadfastness of the Lebanese heroes"
ICU insurgents with prisoners of war in Mogadishu (2008)
The Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, also known as the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia was an armed conflict lasting from mid-2006 to early 2009. It began when Ethiopian military forces, supported by th
Islamic Courts Union
…and expanding its control over much of Somalia. Six months into their governance, the ICU was toppled during the final days of 2006 by a full scale Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, supported by the United States. Much of the organizational structure of the ICU disintegrated early on in 2007 due to the invasion as the ENDF/US…
Ethiopian National Defense Force soldier training with the U.S. troops in Hurso, Somali Region of Ethiopia (Dec 2006)
U.S. military forces transporting supplies with a C-130 at a remote airstrip in southern Ethiopia (Dec 2006)
ENDF T-55 tank captured by ICU fighters at the Idaale front (Dec 2006)