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 MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Islamic militiamen struggled to keep up with a flow of former rivals ready to surrender prized weapons Thursday, further cementing the radical Muslims' position as the undisputed power in the Somali capital.
The Islamic group seized large parts of southern Somalia from rival warlords in June, and has since used force, its status as arbiter of Islamic law, and negotiations to consolidate power.
The arms handovers came days after the militia attacked one of the last holdout warlords in Mogadishu, killing at least 70 people in clashes that ended Tuesday, when the rivals surrendered. On Wednesday, some 300 Islamic militiamen peacefully took Mogadishu's disused, rusting seaport from another secular warlord who was resisting the group's strict religious rule.
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