General Duke Posted February 9, 2005 AU troops bound for Somalia February 09 2005 at 08:01AM Addis Ababa - The African Union (AU) has authorised five East African nations to deploy troops and equipment to help Somalia's fledgling government return safely to this anarchic nation. Somalia's government was formed at peace talks in the safety of Kenya last year to end the lawless rule of local militias which banded together to depose military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The five nations agreed at an AU summit in Nigeria last week to send troops or equipment to ensure security when the government returns. In a communique issued on Tuesday, the pan-African body's peace and security council laid out the responsibilities of a peace mission backed by contingents from Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Somalis are traditionally resistant to outside interference The soldiers and other personnel are to be employed under the rubric of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), a group of East African governments that managed peace negotiations for Somalia and southern Sudan. Warlords in the Somali capital Mogadishu have started handing over key state installations occupied by their gunmen to an official Somali delegation that is negotiating the relocation of the country's national administration from exile in Kenya. Warlord Hussein Mohammed Aidid's Somali National Alliance (SNA) faction handed over the presidential palace in southern Mogadishu and asked President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's government to return and occupy it "very soon." Aidid himself is a deputy prime minister in Ahmed's government. Commander Mohammed Jama Nur, now a lawmaker, also gave up control of the Mogadishu seaport and handed it over to Somali parliament speaker Shariff Hassan Sheikh Aden, who is leading a delegation of around 70 lawmakers. Kenya wished to maintain its mediator's neutrality "The port is now officially handed over to the government," Nur said. Operations at the port collapsed in 1995 when UN peacekeepers and US rangers fled amid an escalation of animosity with the local warlords. The AU-backed peace support mission is "to provide security support to the transitional federal government, in order to ensure its relocation to Somalia". It will also "guarantee the sustenance of the outcome of the IGAD peace process and assist with the re-establishment of peace and security, including the training of the police and army", the communique said. It is not clear when the government will actually relocate, but pundits who pore over African political calendars have pencilled the second quarter of 2005 as the likeliest period. Two groups of government officials returned to Somalia last week, greeted by cheering Somalis, while on a mission to assess security. Ahmed has said he wanted a combined AU-Arab League force of 7 500 troops to facilitate the government's return. But others in his administration have argued that the militias are all the military muscle required. Somalis are traditionally resistant to outside interference. The last peacekeeping mission in Somalia ended in a bloody and humiliating withdrawal by US and UN troops in the mid 1990s. The communique did not specify the deployment size, although Uganda has already pledged 2 000 troops. Kenya's Foreign Minister Chirau Ali Makwere said Kenya wished to maintain its mediator's neutrality and therefore would only send logistics and observer personnel, not soldiers. It was unclear from what government branch the Kenyan contingent would be drawn. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
General Duke Posted February 9, 2005 African Union authorises troops for Somalia Tue February 8, 2005 2:47 PM GMT+02:00 By Tsegaye Tadesse ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The African Union has authorised five east African nations to deploy troops and equipment to help Somalia's fledgling government return safely to its anarchic nation. Somalia's government was formed at peace talks in the safety of Kenya last year to end the lawless rule of local militias which banded together to depose military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The five nations agreed at an African Union summit in Nigeria last week to send troops or equipment to ensure security when the government returns. In a communique issued on Tuesday, the pan-African body's Peace and Security Council laid out the responsibilities of a peace mission backed by contingents from Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. The soldiers and other personnel are to be employed under the rubric of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), a group of east African governments that managed peace negotiations for Somalia and southern Sudan. The AU-backed peace support mission is "to provide security support to the transitional federal government, in order to ensure its relocation to Somalia". It will also "guarantee the sustenance of the outcome of the IGAD peace process and assist with the re-establishment of peace and security, including the training of the police and army", the communique said. Two groups of government officials returned to Somalia last week, greeted by cheering Somalis, while on a mission to assess security. Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has said he wanted a combined AU-Arab League force of 7,500 troops to facilitate the government's return. But others in his administration have argued that the militias are all the military muscle required. Somalis are traditionally resistant of outside interference. The last peacekeeping mission in Somalia ended in a bloody and humiliating withdrawal by U.S. and United Nations troops in the mid 1990s. The communique did not specify the deployment size, although Uganda has already pledged 2,000 troops. Discussions on the size and mandate of the force were underway this week. Kenyan Foreign Minister Chirau Ali Makwere told a press conference that Kenya wished to maintain its mediator's neutrality and therefore would only send logistics and observer personnel, not soldiers. It was unclear from what government branch the Kenyan contingent would be drawn. Additional Articles > Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
General Duke Posted February 9, 2005 AU troops to help Somali govt February 9, 2005 Addis Ababa: The African Union had authorised an East African body to deploy troops to help the new Somali government, exiled in Kenya, move to its war-shattered country, an official statement said yesterday. The Peace and Security Council of the AU authorised Igad, the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, "to deploy a peace support mission in Somalia to provide security support to the Transitional Federal Government in order to ensure its relocation to Somalia", the body said. At the AU summit in Nigeria last month, leaders said that Igad, which groups Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Djibouti and Sudan, would initially provide troops and equipment for the mission. The AU also welcomed the commitment of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Sudan and Uganda to providing troops and equipment for the mission, which will be the first since United Nations and US special forces failed to restore peace in the country between 1993 and 1995. The pan-African body, which in January accepted in principle the deployment of African troops to Somalia, bestowed Igad nations with the responsibility of initial troop deployment pending the arrival of the AU troops. An official with the AU's Peace and Security Council said that a study team was expected to arrive in Somalia on Friday to assess the situation before troops finally arrived. At the weekend, the government accepted the deployment of a peace mission. However, the decision was met with stiff opposition from the warlords who control fiefdoms across the country. The nation has been a theatre of anarchic bloodletting since President Siad Barre was toppled in 1991. - Sapa-AFP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
