Somali leader seeks to bolster power with troops + JOIN THE GOVERNMENT

[Camel Mlik]

By Ali Bile

 

MOGADISHU, July 28 (Reuters) - New Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has appealed for militia across the anarchic nation to join a security force for his government which re-based this week outside Mogadishu to the fury of his foes.

 

In the 14th attempt to re-establish government in lawless Somalia since 1991 when warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, the president flew from his personal stronghold in northern Puntland region to the town of Jowhar this week.

 

But a faction of his administration -- which was formed in 2004 in the relative security of neighbouring Kenya and returned to Somalia earlier this year -- has set up in Mogadishu and dismisses Yusuf's argument that the capital is too unsafe.

 

With threats from some warlords in Mogadishu, including government members, to attack Jowhar if Yusuf takes troops there, analysts fear the rift at the heart of the new Somali administration could turn violent.

 

Presidential spokesman Yusuf Ismail Baribari told Reuters on a visit to Nairobi the new administration was proceeding with its plans to recruit troops for the good of the nation.

 

"The screening and training of the militia and former Somali soldiers is in progress. ... This force will defend the Somali population," he said, adding the troops would also be trained to respond to national disasters and to undertake civil engineering work.

 

"JOIN THE GOVERNMENT"

 

Addressing supporters in Jowhar some 90 km (56 miles) north of Mogadishu earlier in the week, President Yusuf confirmed he was finally setting up a temporary base for his government there until security improved in Mogadishu.

 

"I appeal to militia in Mogadishu and its environs to join government forces to be part of the national security," he said.

 

"The government will continue its reconciliation drive, its main objective is to return law and order."

 

His move to Jowhar, however, has been denounced by some of his foes within the administration in Mogadishu who say the 2004 accord in Kenya obliges the government to set up in the capital.

 

"His actions are totally illegal and are wrong," former warlord and now Security Minister Mohamed Qanyare told the BBC.

 

Amid threats of attacks on Jowhar if he brought large troop numbers with him, Yusuf flew there on Monday only with his own personal security and top aides.

 

All cabinet members and MPs who participated in the Somali peace process have agreed to follow the democratic rules it set forth, and the government is open to dialogue within those rules, Baribari said.

 

"They swore in front of God to fulfil their duty and rescue Somalis from senseless civil war," he said. "The public have a right to better life and a working government." (Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Nairobi)

 

Source: Reuters

 

 

 

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