Somalia: Government Makes Deal With Militia

[Jacaylbaro]

The government signed an agreement on Monday to give leaders of a powerful militia senior government positions in return for their military support during a long-planned offensive against Islamist insurgents.

 

The agreement gives the militia, Ahlu-sunah Wal-jamea, five ministries as well as diplomatic posts and senior positions within the police and intelligence services. The militia holds several towns and districts in central Somalia.

[Jacaylbaro]

Somalia’s government has signed a peace agreement with the militant group, Ahlu Sunna Wal-jamaca (ASWJ.) This agreement comes before the Transitional Government launches an expected military offensive against the hardliner militant group, Al-Shabab.

 

Sheikh Mohamed Dahir Hefow, the militia’s leader, signed the deal with Somali Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden at a ceremony held at the African Union’s headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. This deal offers the militant group senior government positions in return for their military support against Al-shabab and Hizbul Islam. The agreement gives the Ahlu-sunah Wal-jamea militia five cabinet positions as well as diplomatic posts and senior positions within the police and intelligence services.

 

Ahlu Sunna Wal-jamaca holds several towns and districts in central Somalia. The weak U.N.-backed government barely clings to a few blocks of the capital of Mogadishu with the support of more than 6,000 African Union peacekeepers.The signing of this Agreement comes one year into the tenure of the Transitional Government, which promised to reach out to all Somali factions.

 

Al-Shabab, which professes loyalty to al-Qaeda, has been fighting the UN-backed transitional government since 2007. They control much of southern and central Somalia.

 

Somalia’s Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said at the signing ceremony that the deal was part of a larger reconciliation plan. “With this agreement, the government of Somalia and Ahlu-sunah Wal-jamea have taken an essential step in the strategy toward restoring peace and stability to our beloved country,’’ he said. “It is a victory for peace and a cursed defeat for spoilers and extremist groups.’’

 

Analysts say Ahlu-sunah Wal-jamea militants have long enjoyed Ethiopian support, receiving money and weapons in return for trying to stop Somali Islamists from crossing the long, porous border into Ethiopia, where ethnically Somali rebels are fighting against Ethiopia’s government.

 

 

AP