Al-Qaeda cell in Mogadishu

2005-05-12 23:31

Chris Tomlinson

Addis Ababa - Ethiopia's prime minister said on Thursday that he believes it is common knowledge that an al-Qaeda terror cell is operating in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

He said only a stable central government could end the chaos in the Horn of Africa country and eliminate the terrorist threat.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his government supported a transitional Somali government that was formed in neighbouring Kenya last year and would do everything possible to help that government take power.

He said he would only send troops to Somalia in self-defence, though, since only Somalis themselves could install the first effective central government in 14 years.

Meles said: "Wherever there is distress, acute poverty, social dislocation, the potential for a terrorist state exists.

"We have a very active terrorist cell in Mogadishu, which has been involved in terrorist activities in Kenya."

Somalis reject the accusation

There had been two major terrorist attacks in Kenya, the first in 1998 when the US Embassy was destroyed by a car bomb, and a second in 2002, when a car bomb detonated outside of a tourist hotel on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast.

Despite reports that the masterminds of both attacks fled to Somalia, most Somalis rejected the accusation.

Somalia has been ruled by clan-based warlords since 1991, when the dictatorship of Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown and the warlords turned on each other.

The African Union, also based in Addis Ababa, was meeting late on Thursday to discuss plans to send troops to Somalia to guarantee the safety of the government-in-exile, which was formed after three years of peace talks in Kenya.

Meles said the new government was the best option for shutting down the terror cell in Somalia.

Meles said: "We have offered to help. Should the process collapse, we very much hope it doesn't but if it does, we plan to protect ourselves, not sort out the mess in Somalia."

- SAPA