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/ 13 September 2006
Militiamen loyal to the fundamentalist Islamic group that appears determined to rule Somalia are advancing on one of the last-remaining commercial ports outside of their control, a European Union official said on Wednesday. Several hundred militiamen loyal to the Islamic group have been seen travelling to Kismayo, about 500km south of the capital, Mogadishu, the official and witnesses said.
Somalia’s Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, on Friday appointed seven new ministers as he started replacing the 38 who quit in the past week to protest against the deployment of Ethiopian troops to protect his 18-month-old administration.
Somalia’s government was trying to regroup on Wednesday after nearly 30 lawmakers resigned in less than a week, saying the virtually powerless administration has failed to reconcile with Islamic militants who have taken over the capital. ”The prime minister has failed to talk to the Islamic union,” said Hasaan Abshir Farah, an ex-minister.
Somalia’s president told residents of the only town his government controls on Tuesday that they have a week to give up their weapons, after which ”every single gun in Baidoa” will be seized by force. It was unclear how President Abdullahi Yusuf, whose government has no military, will make good on the threat to disarm Baidoa.
Hundreds of Somalis rallied in support of Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi on Monday after he survived a confidence vote, narrowly averting the collapse of his fragile interim government. Shouting his name and carrying placards reading: ”Long live Gedi’s government”, crowds of supporters marched in the provincial town of Baidoa.
Somalia’s prime minister on Saturday accused Egypt, Libya and Iran of providing weapons for Islamic militants who have seized control of much of the country’s south, citing unnamed sources within his government. ”Egypt, Libya and Iran are engaged in fuelling the conflict in Somalia by supporting the terrorists,” Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi said.
A Cabinet member was assassinated as he left a mosque on Friday, enraging hundreds of Somalis who rioted in the streets screaming, ”We want a government that can restore law and order!” It was the second shooting of a lawmaker this week and the latest blow to an administration that has watched helplessly as Islamic militants recently took control of the capital, Mogadishu.
Somalia’s interim government agreed on Tuesday to attend new peace talks with the country’s powerful Islamists, responding to a United Nations drive to avoid war in the Horn of Africa country. ”We will go to Khartoum without any preconditions,” said Abdirizak Adam, interim President Abdullahi Yusuf’s chief of staff.
Somalia’s transitional president on Friday ruled out talks with Islamists in control of the capital, claiming they had broken an earlier agreement and planned to seize more territory. The two sides had been due to meet in Sudan on Saturday for a second round of talks aimed at resolving differences.
Islamic militiamen who just seized Somalia’s capital moved on another town on Monday in at least 50 vehicles mounted with machine guns, apparently intent on a new battle with their secular rivals. If militiamen capture Jowhar and consolidate power in Mogadishu, they will control nearly all the major towns in southern Somalia.
At least two people were killed and six wounded on Friday when rival gunmen clashed in the temporary home of Somalia’s largely powerless transitional government, witnesses said. The fighting, which appeared unrelated to fierce battles between Islamists and a United States-backed warlord alliance, erupted after a dispute over a checkpoint in the town.
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/ 13 February 2006
Warring factions in southern Somalia on Sunday agreed to end interclan fighting and promote security ahead of the lawless nation’s Parliament meeting this month for the first time on home soil. The regional capital of Baidoa, about 250km west of Mogadishu, is expected to host Parliament on February 26.