Thousands of Puntland troops to leave Mogadishu..

[General Duke]

Somalia: Puntland soldiers to leave Mogadishu as Ethiopia withdraws

27 Dec 27, 2008 - 11:54:20 PM

 

GAROWE, Somalia Dec 27 (Garowe Online) - Soldiers loyal to embattled Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf will leave the capital Mogadishu as Ethiopian troops begin to withdraw, Radio Garowe reports.

 

A Cabinet-level meeting in Garowe, the capital of Puntland, ended Saturday with Interior Minister Abdihamid Garad Jama saying that a government delegation's recent trip to Ethiopia was successful.

 

 

"One of the reasons we went to Ethiopia was to discuss how our soldiers [from Puntland] could leave Mogadishu peacefully," the Minister said, while adding that the Puntland delegation and Ethiopian leaders "agreed" that the Puntland soldiers would leave Mogadishu as Ethiopian troops withdraw.

 

A Puntland government delegation visited Addis Ababa earlier this month, including Finance Minister Mohamed "Gaagaab" Ali and a number of traditional elders.

 

Somali President Yusuf, who hails from the Puntland region, took thousands of soldiers from Puntland to protect him in Mogadishu and work as federal troops.

 

The Ethiopian government has announced plans to withdraw from Somalia in the coming weeks, after failing to stop the advance of Islamists across the country's southern regions.

 

Media reports have speculated that President Yusuf will step down, under U.S. pressure. But the Somali president has not addressed a full parliament yet and his final decision remains unknown.