AU sends 'scouts' to Somalia
04/02/2007 22:26  - (SA)  

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UN: AU must keep Somali peace UN: AU must keep Somali peace Somali mortar attacks claim 7 Somali mortar attacks claim 7 AU avoids major rift on Darfur AU avoids major rift on Darfur AU to deploy troops to Somalia AU to deploy troops to Somalia Somalia implements martial law Somalia implements martial law Pressure mounts on Somalia Pressure mounts on Somalia Somalia 'needs troops urgently' Somalia 'needs troops urgently' US offers air support in Somalia US offers air support in Somalia Somalia may 'revert to chaos' Somalia may 'revert to chaos' SA: No troops for Somalia SA: No troops for Somalia

Mogadishu - An African Union military delegation has arrived in Somalia for a three-day mission to assess security before the planned deployment of a peacekeeping force, said an official on Sunday.

The eight-member team travelled to the capital, Mogadishu, a day after a top Islamic leader warned that the deployment of a foreign peacekeeping force would fuel growing insecurity in the anarchic nation.

They toured the airport, seaport and military camps and met Ethiopian troops in the capital, said the city's mayor, Mohamoud Hassan.

He said part of the mission was to see where African troops would stay.

Fears of anarchy mounting

On Saturday, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a top leader of the Islamic movement that was ousted last month, said the proposed force would "not bring peace in Somalia".

Three battalions of peacekeepers from Uganda and Nigeria are ready to be deployed in Somalia and will be airlifted in as soon as possible, said a senior AU official last week.

The Islamic movement was ousted by Somalia's government with the help of Ethiopian military forces earlier this year after having taken over much of the country's south.

But, as Ethiopian forces withdraw, fears are mounting that Somalia again could be plunged into anarchy.

Violence has been spiralling in the capital, where the Islamic movement has strong support.

Sheik Ahmed, who spoke in a rare interview since fleeing Somalia and being taken into Kenyan protective custody, said support for the Islamic movement was growing because of the worsening security situation in Mogadishu, a city of two million people.

The African Union was pressing ahead with its peacekeeping mission to Somalia, despite securing only half the 8 000 troops needed at a key summit of African leaders that ended on Tuesday.

The AU officials, led by a Ugandan general, also travelled to Baidoa, a provincial farming town where the government is based, and are expected to hold talks with the president and prime minister on when the peacekeeping force would arrive.

Distrustful of peacekeepers

On Friday, the UN security council renewed its support for the African Union's decision to deploy peacekeepers in Somalia, emphasising that such a force was needed to help restore peace and stability.

Many Somalis are deeply distrustful of a peacekeeping mission after a disastrous UN-led mission in the 1990s.

The Islamic movement was credited with restoring order that the transitional government, which was set up in 2004, failed to do. But, the US accused it of harbouring al-Qaeda suspects.

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