Militiamen Open Fire on Somali Speaker + Phased relocation planned

[General Duke]

Militiamen Open Fire on Somalia Official

Posted to the Web Feb 08, 16:38

 

 

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Militiamen fired in the direction of the speaker of Somali's parliament as he and his delegation toured the capital's port on Tuesday, highlighting the challenge his government-in-exile faces as it considers returning home. No one was hurt.

 

The militiamen, apparently firing from across the bay, shot near where Speaker Shariif Hassan Sheikh Aden and others were standing. Neither Aden nor any of the lawmakers accompanying him showed any emotion, but they quickly went to their next destination, Villa Somalia, which served as the official residence in the past.

 

Aden and his delegation of some 60 lawmakers and Cabinet ministers are assessing conditions in this war-ravaged country - where they have no army, no civil service and no buildings - in preparation for the government's scheduled return from Kenya later this month.

 

The government - established in October following two years of peace talks in Kenya among clan leaders, warlords and other Somalis - has repeatedly said it was planning to go to Somalia only to delay the move.

 

Mohamed Jamah Furuh, a warlord-turned-lawmaker whose fighters captured Mogadishu's international port, promised Friday to turn over the facility to the government. But the last time he tried to resume operations there, rival militias fired at the ships that tried to dock.

 

Members of Aden's delegation took the machine-gun fire as warning that if the government wanted to take control of the port, it would have to negotiate with more militias than Furuh's.

 

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Mohamud Abdullahi Jama said the government's return to Somalia was scheduled to start on Feb. 21. Jama told The Associated Press officials were awaiting assessments of the security situation in the capital before deciding where to set up their base in the country, which has effectively had no central government since 1991.

 

Jama said the government considered it important to relocate to Somalia as soon as possible, even if it meant they had to temporarily set up base outside Mogadishu, a city split between heavily armed factions.

 

Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi is planning a mission to other towns after Aden returns in the coming days and briefs the 275-member transitional parliament, said Jama, who is also information minister.

 

Jama did not provide additional details or say when President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed would go to Somalia.

 

Yusuf has asked the African Union for 20,000 troops to help provide security for the government and on Monday the AU authorized such a deployment but did not say when the force will arrive or what size it would be.

 

The decision faces strong opposition from Somalis because the force is likely to be made up of troops from neighboring countries involved in the country's previous conflicts.

 

The AU Peace and Security Council said in a statement that the troops will also train a new police force and army for Somalia and will be followed by an AU peacekeeping mission, the details of which are still being worked out.

 

The request for peacekeepers has angered many in Mogadishu, where the deployment of U.S. and United Nations troops in the 1990s set off some of the worst fighting of the war. Some Islamic militants have threatened to attack any foreign troops deployed in Somalia.

[General Duke]

Somalia's government plans phased return

Posted to the Web Feb 08, 12:22

 

 

Nairobi:- Somalia's transitional government plans to relocate in phases to Somalia, giving up the relative safety of neighbouring Kenya for a chaotic land where they have no army, no civil service and no buildings, the deputy prime minister said on Monday.

 

The move to Somalia is scheduled to start on February 21, said Deputy Prime Minister Mohamud Abdullahi Jama, adding that officials are still waiting on assessments of the security situation in Mogadishu, the capital, before deciding where to set up their base in the country, which has effectively had no central government since 1991.

 

Jama said the government considered it important to relocate to Somalia as soon as possible, even if it meant they had to temporarily set up base in a town safer than Mogadishu, a city split between heavily armed factions.

 

The government - established in October following two years of peace talks among clan leaders, warlords and other Somalis - has repeatedly said it was planning to go to Somalia only to delay the move, and Jama did not provide any additional details of the latest relocation plan or say when President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed would go to Somalia.

 

But Jama did say that once the government is up and running in Somalia, it plans to establish a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate human rights violations that have taken place since the country disintegrated into a patchwork of battling fiefdoms following the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. However, the commission's scope and mandate have not yet been determined, he said.

 

The United Nations' independent expert on human rights in Somalia, Ghanim Alnajjar, said the commission "is necessary because there have been serious crimes and human rights violations and victims are crying out". Alnajjar recently visited parts of Somalia.

 

Transitional parliament speaker Shariif Hassan Sheikh Aden is currently leading a delegation of some 60 lawmakers and Cabinet ministers to Somalia, assessing conditions in Mogadishu. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi is planning a follow up mission to other towns after Aden returns in the coming days and briefs the 275-member transitional parliament, said Jama, who is also information minister.

 

Whether the government decides to move to Mogadishu or another town, if faces considerable challenges - it has no money, no civil service or even buildings in Somalia.

 

Officials are counting on African Union and Arab League peacekeepers to ensure their safety as they try to rebuild a government.

 

Jama said the Cabinet decided on Saturday to request the African Union and Arab League send between 5 000 and 7 500 troops with a one-year mandate to protect the government as it organises a police force and army. Yusuf in December requested 20 000 peacekeepers.

 

The African Union has agreed to send a force, but officials privately say it will be limited in size and scope. Uganda has promised 2 000 troops.

 

But in Mogadishu on Monday, the acting head of Somalia's nominal security forces, General Mohamed Warsame, insisted Somalis could provide adequate security for their own leaders, saying 3 500 former policemen and soldiers who served under Siad Barre have offered their services to the transitional government.

 

But if peacekeepers are sent, they should be Muslims and none should come from neighbouring countries, Warsame said.

 

The request for peacekeepers has angered many in Mogadishu, where the deployment of US and UN troops in the 1990s sparked some of the worst fighting of the war. Some Islamic militants have threatened to attack any foreign troops deployed in Somalia.

 

 

Source:-Associated Press