Somalia president prepares troops to protect govt

[Sky]

Somalia president prepares troops to protect govt

Thu Jul 7, 2005 5:25 PM GMT

 

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somalia's president is gathering troops from around the country to protect his government as he moves into its temporary base in Jowhar against angry protests from within his cabinet, a minister said on Thursday.

 

Underscoring tensions in the lawless Horn of Africa nation over where the government should make its initial home, President Abdullahi Yusf's plans have increased the threat of violence, analysts said.

 

Warlords in Mogadishu have threatened to attack Jowhar, 90 km (55 miles) to the north, if Yusuf takes troops there.

 

A senior Somali minister said the troops were not for the purpose of starting a fight, but to protect the administration until regional peacekeepers arrive.

 

"It's true (the president) has started accumulating troops. Around 10,000 troops will be trained to be Somali police and will be deployed in all regions of the country," said Mohamed Mahamud Guled, Somali's rural development minister and Yusuf confidant.

 

"If the government is attacked it will defend itself."

 

Yusuf returned to Somalia on July 1 for the first time since his government left neighbouring Kenya in June, where it had remained since its formation at peace talks last year.

 

The president has been trying to heal a rift over where the administration should make its initial home and held talks with Somalia's parliamentary speaker in Yemen last month, which produced no agreement.

 

U.N. ARMS EMBARGO

 

A faction of ministers and MPs aligned with Yusuf and Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi have made their temporary home in relatively secure Jowhar.

 

Others including powerful warlords in his cabinet insist Mogadishu must be the capital under an interim constitution and are now there.

 

Yusuf and his allies say anarchic Mogadishu, controlled by various clan-based militia, cannot be the government's home until it is pacified.

 

He first landed in the northern port of Bosasso in Puntland state, his powerbase, but has since moved to the state capital Garowe. Yusuf told the BBC on Wednesday that he planned to move south to Johwar, collecting militiamen on the way.

 

Yusuf's interim administration is the 14th attempt to re-establish government in the lawless country since 1991, when a coalition of warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and Somalia descended into anarchy.

 

The differences have raised tension there and international donors including the United States said this week they were concerned about reports of militia movements and an increase in influx of weapons into Somalia.

 

They urged Somali leaders to respect a 1992 United Nations arms embargo in force over the Horn of Africa country.

 

"We call on all leaders in Somalia to exercise maximum restraint and take effective steps to reduce tension," said the donors after a meeting led by U.N. Secretary General special envoy, Francois Fall.

 

"Any resort to military force either in offence or pre-emptive defense will be unacceptable to the international community."

 

 

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.