Liibaan Posted November 30, 2008 Somali Islamist leader wants international force Reuters Sat 29 Nov 2008, 13:08 GMT By David Clarke NAIROBI (Reuters) - The leader of Somalia's moderate Islamist opposition called on Saturday for international forces to deploy when Ethiopian troops leave the Horn of Africa nation, to create a chance of reaching a peaceful settlement. Ethiopia said on Friday it would pull out by the end of the year the thousands of soldiers it sent in to support Somalia's Western-backed interim administration, raising the spectre of a security vacuum in an already chaotic and violent country. Nearly two decades of chaos in the poor Horn of Africa country have created a breeding ground for kidnappings, banditry and rampant piracy in the busy shipping lanes offshore. Somalia's government has struggled to battle Islamist militants waging an Iraq-style insurgency. They control most of the south and have been slowly advancing on Mogadishu. "We need also the stabilisation force to be brought to Somalia," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told a panel of African elder statesmen in Kenya. "We are guaranteeing that you will be welcome ... we will be there for you when you need our help." "We must not miss this very essential window of opportunity when we are actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," said Sharif, who heads a moderate Islamist faction based in Eritrea. HARDLINE REJECTION While Somalia's transitional administration and some opposition groups are trying to form a government of national unity under U.N.-led talks in Djibouti, other hardline factions have rejected the peace process. The African Union has 3,400 soldiers in Somalia helping to protect the capital, but fears that without reinforcements security will become even worse when the Ethiopians leave. Fighting in Somalia has killed 10,000 civilians since early 2007, driven more than a million from their homes and left more than 3 million Somalis in need of emergency food aid. "We need to have more troops as a matter of urgency," said Nicolas Bwakira, the African Union Commission's Special Representative for Somalia. "We need to have also more resources as a matter of urgency." He said Uganda and Burundi had some 1,700 troops between them poised to strengthen their existing forces in Somalia, but the African Union needed some $200 million to make this happen. Bwakira said Nigeria, Sudan and other African nations had been approached to supply troops, and appealed to the United Nations Security Council to take action as quickly as possible to support their peacekeeping efforts. Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein also pleaded with the international community to step in when Ethiopian troops went home, saying there was hope for the peace process. "There is a very real concern that a security vacuum will be inevitable, with the consequences you can imagine," he said. "There is a great danger the situation may turn into chaos." Margaret Vogt, deputy director, Africa 1 Division at the United Nations, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had made little progress in finding a nation to lead a stabilisation force in Somalia. "Unfortunately, the result so far has not been very encouraging," she said. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Liibaan Posted November 30, 2008 Aljazeera Somali leader seeks peacekeepers Sheikh Sharif Ahmed heads a moderate opposition group from neighbouring Eritrea [AP] Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the chairman of Somalia's Islamic Court's Union (ICU), has called for the deployment of international peacekeeping forces to stabilise his country. Ahmed on Saturday said that the peacekeepers should deploy when Ethiopian forces pull out as promised by the end of 2008. Ethiopia, which sent thousands of troops to Somalia in early 2007 to drive out ICU fighters who had seized control of much of the country, said on Friday that its forces would pull out of the country by the year end. "To those African countries that want to bring their own forces, we are telling you: You are welcome," Ahmed told African elders at the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Ahmed, who heads a moderate faction among the Somali opposition groups, said peacekeepers could help create a chance of reaching a peaceful settlement in Somalia. 'Window of opportunity' "We need also the stabilisation force to be brought to Somalia," Ahmed said. "We must not miss this very essential window of opportunity when we are actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." While Somalia's transitional administration and some opposition groups are trying to form a government of national unity under UN-led talks in Djibouti, other hardline factions have rejected the peace process. The African Union has 3,400 soldiers in Somalia helping to protect the capital, but there are fears that without reinforcements security will deteriorate when the Ethiopians leave. The AU has also urged the UN to form a stabilisation force for Somalia to step in when Ethiopian troops leave. Stabilisation force A statement from the AU's "Panel of the Wise" urged the UN to authorise "without any further delay the establishment of an international stabilisation force which will build on an enhanced Amisom [the AU force in Somalia] and further the cause of peace". Fighting in Somalia has killed 10,000 civilians since early 2007 and driven more than a million from their homes. Nur Hassan Hussein, the Somali prime minister, also pleaded with the international community to step in when Ethiopian troops went home, saying there was hope for the peace process. "There is a very real concern that a security vacuum will be inevitable, with the consequences you can imagine," he said. "There is a great danger the situation may turn into chaos." Somalia's government has struggled to battle Islamic fighters waging an Iraq-style insurgency. They control most of the south and have been slowly advancing on the capital, Mogadishu. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Liibaan Posted November 30, 2008 VOA News Somali Opposition Leader Calls for African Union Troops Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed A Somali opposition leader is asking for the African Union to send more troops to help stabilize the country. Islamist leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed says Saturday the additional troops will be needed now that Ethiopia has decided to withdraw its soldiers by the end of the year. He told a meeting of senior African officials in Kenya the additional troops would be welcome. Meanwhile, the Somali insurgent group al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for a mortar attack Saturday on a compound near the capital of Mogadishu that serves as a base for Ethiopian troops. No damage or casualties have yet been reported. Ethiopia sent thousands of troops to support Somalia's Western-backed government, which has been fighting Islamist insurgents for two years. The African Union already has a small peacekeeping force in Somalia. Initial plans called for 8,000 soldiers, but the actual number of peacekeepers has been closer to 2,000. Somalia's interim government remains heavily dependent on Ethiopian troops for protection against insurgent attacks and officials in Somalia's transitional government have been expressing concern about the Ethiopian announcement. Deputy speaker of parliament Osman Elmi Boqore says the pullout could threaten the already fragile Somali government. A spokesman for the Islamic Courts Union told VOA he welcomes the announcement of Ethiopia's withdrawal, but he is still skeptical that the Ethiopian troops will actually pull out. The Islamists had taken over much of southern Somalia before they were ousted in 2006. They regrouped and launched the insurgency in early 2007. President Abdullahi Yusuf recently said his government controls only two cities - Baidoa and the capital, Mogadishu. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacaylbaro Posted November 30, 2008 A/Y called for international forces right after he was elected. Sh. Sharif is doing the same thing after 4 years. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xaq Posted November 30, 2008 Shariif has assesed the situation and realised that any Somali government will need to be protected from its own citizens. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacaylbaro Posted November 30, 2008 Means he was wrong when he was criticizing his rival, A/Y on this ,,,,,, eh ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xaaji Xunjuf Posted November 30, 2008 kan sheikh sharif waxaan xasuusta barii oo odhan jiiray ama bacad ayadaasii waxano sheegtay xadiiskaasiiw axay noo sheegtay. imika wuxu ku odhanaya qoddabadu waxay sheegayaan ahahhaha. alla ninku muxu is badalay. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kamaavi Posted November 30, 2008 Sheekhu rageedii weeye aabo, iidaya aan idin dhahay. Meel aan dhawayn ayuu shaxda ka ciyaaraya. Siyaasadiisa saa u fahanto afar sano kadib ka soo war doon, intaa ka hor sheekha ha loo dhaafo hawshiisa oo weliba ducana ha loogu daro. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
