There was a rare moment this week in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, when a crowd of protesters marched through the ruined seaside city and burned the black flag of the Shabab, the jihadist militia that is threatening to take over the country. The Shabab, which means youth, hunts down its critics, sometimes beheading them, so torching its battle banner in broad daylight was a brave act. But the courage was per-rnhaps born of desolation. Most of the protesters were family and friends of Benadir University medical students killed by a suicide-bomber on December 3rd.
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