Somali warlord agrees to talks, boosts government peace efforts
Mon Sep 1, 2014 7:21am GMT
By Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A Somali clan leader who fought for years to retake a
strategic southern port city he once controlled has laid down arms and
joined talks, bolstering government efforts to show it can restore order to
a chaotic nation.
The fate of the city of Kismayu and the surrounding region of Jubbaland is
seen as a test of Mogadishu's skill in building a federal system of
government and pacifying a nation fought over for more than two decades by
warlords and Islamist rebels.
Dozens of people were killed in clashes last year when Barre Hirale's forces
battled to regain control of Kismayu from the Ras Kamboni militia loyal to
Ahmed Madobe, who had been chosen in May by a regional assembly to preside
over Jubbaland.
Hirale and Madobe have for years fought to control the port, which generates
valuable revenues from taxes, charcoal exports and levies on arms and other
illegal imports.
The African Union force AMISOM, which has been involved in reconciliation
efforts, said Hirale and nearly 100 members of his militia gave up their
weapons on Saturday after discussions with clan elders and Somali federal
government delegations.
AMISOM said Hirale also shook hands with Madobe.
The United Nations, the regional African group IGAD and European Union
envoys which have supported Mogadishu in brokering a deal welcomed Hirale's
agreement to join a reconciliation conference due to take place in coming
weeks.
"It is an important step forward in the path towards peace- and
state-building for all Somalis," they said in a joint statement on Sunday,
when the news about Hirale was announced.
"DEVIL IN THE DETAIL"
Fighting in Kismayu last year raised worries it could re-ignite broader clan
warfare across Somalia, where several regions such as Somaliland and
Puntland have split away from central government control.
Analysts say breakaway regions may be reassured if the government can show
skill in ending the battle for Kismayu and reaching a power-sharing deal to
integrate the Jubbaland region into a federal structure.
"While this is significant and important, and certainly a step in the right
direction, the devil is in the detail," said Abdi Aynte, director of the
Mogadishu-based Heritage Institute for Policy Studies. "There are many
potential roadblocks that could eventually see this progress stall."
Some of Kismayu's residents, worn down by years of fighting, were also
cautious. Several said many more of Hirale's militia were still hiding in
the countryside and could regroup.
"Why did he leave hundreds of his forces and weapons in the forests?" said
local elder, Aden Ahmed. "Now it is too early to say if the so-called
surrender will improve or worsen the political situation," he told Reuters
by telephone from Kismayu.
Hirale ruled Kismayu in the 1990s and into the 2000s until he was unseated
by Madobe, who was at the time aligned to the Islamic Courts Union, which
ruled Somalia until 2006.
The Islamist militant group al Shabaab then ruled the southern region of
Somalia until 2011, when the movement was thrown out of Mogadishu by African
troops. It has continued to launch attacks on the capital and elsewhere
since then.
Al Shabaab militants attacked a national-intelligence site in Mogadishu on
Sunday, an assault that left 12 people dead, including seven of the
attackers.