Som@li Posted October 12, 2004 By Ali Halni, IOL Correspondent MOGADISHU, October 12 (IslamOnline.net) – Faced with a mission that seems impossible, newly-elected Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed hopes to see a federal Somalia under a strong central government. Following years of chaos, Somalia interim parliament, gathered in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, has selected Ahmed Sunday, October 10, to be the first president in 14 years for the war-ravaged country. Twenty-five candidates entered the race, 24 of which were either eliminated in the first two rounds or withdrew. Ahmed won the race in the third round run-off ballot after trouncing his rival, former diplomat and minister Abdullahi Ahmed Adow, by 189 votes to 79. Military Career Born in 1934 in the central Somalia city of Galcaio, the Somali president graduated from military faculties in Italy and the former Soviet Union. Joining the ranks of the Somali Army, Ahmed promoted, rising to the rank of colonel during the era of dictator Mohamed Siyad Berre. Ahmed also studied at the faculty of law in Somalia but was arrested by the Somali security authorities and did not obtain a law degree. In 1969, Yusuf was detained for six years following the military coup of led by Berre in October 1969. Following the outbreak of war between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977, Ahmed was not only released, but was also appointed as an army commander. Barre held dictatorial rule over Somalia from October 1969, when he led a bloodless military coup against the elected government, until January 1991. Failed Coup In 1978, Ahmed, along with other Somali senior army officers carried out a failed coup against the then incumbent president Berre. Following the failed bid, a group of officers were sentenced to death, but Ahmed escaped Somalia for neighboring Ethiopia where he formed the first Somalia Salvation Defense Front to oppose Barre. In 1986, the newly-elected president was arrested by the Ethiopian authorities under an agreement between Barre and his Ethiopian counterpart Mengistu Haile Mariam. In 1991, Somali warlords overthrew Barre and turned their guns on one other, dividing the country of about 7 million people. Ahmed took a position in the Somali city of Bosaso in southeast Somalia with his Salvation front, causing bloody conflicts with the Islamic Union front stationed in the area. In 1993, he was arrested by the Islamic Union militias but was later released following a tribal mediation. He was nominated in 1998 president of the autonomous northeastern region of Puntland. Federalism The new president is known for his strong inclination towards federalism as the best means to achieve stability in Somalia after years of civil war. He is also known to favor open market policies and establishing strong relations with western countries. Following elections, victorious Ahmed vowed relentless efforts to reconstruct the country which has been devastated by years of factional fighting since 1991. Since the 1991 fall of Barre, Somalia has lacked almost all the trappings of a functional state, such as national systems of education, healthcare and justice. The African Union has said it was considering sending such a force, but no detailed plan has yet been unveiled. The last international intervention in Somalia was a disaster. A UN mission deployed from 1992 to 1995 provided famine relief but failed to restore peace. The United States also hurriedly withdrew its forces after 18 of them were killed during a botched mission in Mogadishu in October 1993. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
