Fighters withdrawn from Somali
2005-05-11 09:53
Mogadishu - Warlords controlling thousands of militia fighters in the Somali capital will begin pulling their troops out of Mogadishu by the end of the week in an effort to restore order there, four key warlords said in a statement.
The powerful warlords will pull their fighters back to four camps outside Mogadishu starting on Saturday, to guarantee the security of the transitional government when it returns home from exile in neighbouring Kenya.
Freelance militia fighters and those controlled by businessmen and Islamic courts, however, will not pull out under the initiative.
This may undermine efforts to restore order in the city where an estimated 10 500 armed fighters operate.
Leaders committed to peace
The commitment was signed by warlords-turned-politicians, including National Security Minister Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, Trade Minister Musa Sudi Yahalow, Works Minister Osman Atto and lawmaker Botaan Issa Alin.
Somalia has been without a central government since clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Warlords then turned on each other, plunging the Horn of Africa nation of 7 million into anarchy.
Somalia's government has been based in neighbouring Kenya since it was formed in 2004 because Mogadishu is considered unsafe. It is opposed by Islamic extremists and some of the dozens of warlords in the country.
Efforts to relocate to Mogadishu have been undermined by government divisions over the proposed participation of peacekeepers from neighbouring Ethiopia.
Ethiopia supported Somali factions with money and weapons in the civil war, and some Somali lawmakers fear its troops could seek to advance Ethiopian interests if deployed in the country.
Haunting memories
Somalis also remember the war they lost in 1977 over control of Ethiopia's southeastern Ogaden region, largely inhabited by ethnic Somalis. The Somali army never recovered from the defeat, a fact that eventually helped warlords overthrow Barre in 1991.
On Tuesday, the Mogadishu warlords-turned-politicians accused Ethiopia of preparing for hostilities in southeastern Somali region of Bai Bakol.
Two trucks full of ammunition arrived in the region from Ethiopia on Friday to arm pro-Ethiopia factions that are also allied to Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, according to a statement.
Some Somali lawmakers in Kenya said Ethiopia has sent arms, ammunition, uniforms and some regular troops to help allied Somali factions seize the strategic town of Baidoa, a possible temporary seat of Somalia's transitional government.
An Ethiopian government spokesman, however, dismissed the charges as "baseless and unfounded", adding his country needs a peaceful and stable Somalia.
- AP