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Gunmen
being hired to fill security void in Somalia |
Wednesday,
February 14, 2007
Gunmen in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, are
being hired for €1.50 a day as vigilantes to
help quell growing unrest that has killed at
least 25 people in the past two weeks,
businessmen and residents said today.
The United Nations warned rising violence
and a power vacuum caused by the ousting of
Islamic forces by the transitional
government backed by Ethiopia could lead to
renewed anarchy and chaos that plagued
Somalia for 16 years.
In a monthly report published today, the UN
also issued a caution about Somalia's
infamous warlords, who have begun emerging
in the capital.
In the past the warlords have posed a threat
to humanitarian operations, demanding money
to allow aid into the war-ravaged country.
The spiralling violence is also likely to
undermine any attempts to deploy an African
Union peacekeeping mission designed to
protect the country's weak government and
train a new army.
``The government has to take responsibility
for security, before they get help from
African peacekeepers,'' said Abdi Mo'ali
Husein, a resident who organised their
private security to cope with the worsening
situation.
© Independent News & Media (NI) |
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