Somali govt tries to regroup

2006-08-02 11:57

Mohamed Olad Hassan

Baidoa - Somalia's government was trying to regroup on Wednesday after nearly 30 members of parliament resigned in less than a week, saying the virtually powerless administration had failed to reconcile with Islamic militants who had taken over the capital, Mogadishu.

Hasaan Abshir Farah, one of six ministers who stepped down from Somalia's 275-member parliament, said: "The prime minister has failed to talk to the Islamic union." Four ministers resigned on Tuesday and 18 resigned late last week.

The administration was formed two years ago with the support of the United Nations to help Somalia emerge from more than a decade of anarchy, but it had no power outside its base in Baidoa, 250km from Mogadishu.

An Islamic militia had seized the capital and much of southern Somalia, imposing strict religious courts and raising fears of an emerging Taliban-style regime.

Gedi calls for talks with Islamists

The United States accused the group of harbouring al-Qaeda leaders responsible for deadly bombings at the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi called for peace talks with the Islamists, scheduled for this week, to be postponed so he could strengthen his already-weak administration. On Sunday, Gedi barely survived a no-confidence vote in parliament.

On Tuesday, President Abdullahi Yusuf told Baidoa residents that they had a week to give up their weapons, after which "every single gun in Baidoa" would be seized by force.

Somalia's government had no military, but relied on a militia loyal to Yusuf for security.

He did not say why his government had decided on the measure now, but two MPs had been shot here for the past week, one fatally.

Somali situation 'deteriorating'

The US and other Western powers had cautioned outsiders against meddling in Somalia, which had no single ruling authority and could be manipulated by anyone with money and guns. But, there was little sign the warning had been heeded.

On Tuesday, foreign ministers from eastern Africa met in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the deteriorating situation in Somalia.

The coalition of nations, known as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, "urged countries within and outside the region to strictly adhere to the UN security council arms embargo".

A UN-imposed arms embargo had been in place since 1992, but all sides in the Somali conflict had violated it.

Sahal Osman, a resident, said that earlier this week, hundreds of militiamen in pickups, mounted with machine guns, reached Adado district in the central region of Galgaduud, setting up an Islamic court. It was the first time the group had expanded into central Somalia.

- AP