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Somalia's
warlords re-emerge from shadows to threaten relief work,
U.N. says |
Feb 15, 2007
By Mohamed
Olad Hassan
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's warlords are
re-emerging and pose a threat to
humanitarian aid deliveries to the needy,
the United Nations warned Wednesday, as the
government struggles to quell growing
unrest.
Rising violence and a power vacuum caused by
the ousting of Islamic forces by the
transitional government could lead to a
return of the chaos that plagued Somalia for
16 years, the U.N. said in a monthly report.
The spiraling violence is also likely to
undermine attempts to deploy an African
Union peacekeeping mission designed to
protect the country's weak, Ethiopian-backed
government and train a new army for the
lawless nation.
"The re-emergence of warlords also raises
serious concerns about the need to ensure
principled humanitarian action and a
do-no-harm approach," the U.N said. The
report warned it was critical to avoid the
"coercion and violence" perpetrated by
warlords and their militias in the past, as
they sought to cash in on aid flowing into
the country.
The U.N. estimates around 1 million Somalis
need humanitarian aid.
In Mogadishu, the nation's restive capital
of 2 million, gunmen are being paid $2 a day
to serve as vigilantes, according to
businessmen and residents. Fighting here has
killed at least 25 people in the last two
weeks.
"The government has to take responsibility
for security, before they get help from
African peacekeepers," said Abdi Mo'ali
Husein, a resident who has organized private
security efforts.
About 15 private checkpoints have been set
up in residential areas and armed militia
are being employed by businesses to prevent
attacks, according to Ibrahim Omar Sabriye,
Mogadishu's deputy mayor.
Mogadishu Police Chief Ali Sa'id Abdi said
his officers are working to contain the
violence.
Islamic extremists opposed to the government
routinely attack official buildings in
Mogadishu, as well as Ethiopian troops
deployed here.
In December, Ethiopia sent thousands of
soldiers into Somalia to help the
U.N.-recognized government defeat an Islamic
movement trying to take over the country.
The AU peacekeeping force would replace the
Ethiopian soldiers, who are widely despised
by Mogadishu residents. However, it is not
clear if the peacekeepers would be welcome,
either, after demonstrations over the
weekend by Somalis opposed to the expected
AU deployment.
The U.N. Security Council is discussing in
New York a draft resolution on Somalia,
giving its blessing to an AU peacekeeping
force that would serve in the country for
six months.
Ethiopia had planned to withdraw its forces
quickly, although the growing unrest makes a
full withdrawal unlikely until at least the
arrival of AU troops.
Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister Seyoum
Mesfin met with Somali President Abdullahi
Yusuf on Tuesday in the southern town of
Baidoa.
They discussed the worsening security
situation and resurgence of resistance
groups, said a government official who
declined to give his name because he was not
authorized to talk to the media.
Somalia has not had an effective national
government since 1991, when warlords
overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and
then turned on one another, throwing the
country into anarchy. A transitional
government was formed in 2004 with U.N.
help, but has had little authority because
it has no real army or police force.
------
Associated Press Writer Salad Duhul
contributed to this report from Mogadishu. |
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