From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Jan 03 2009 - 16:28:06 EST
No power vacuum after Somalia pull out, Ethiopia pledges
03.01.2009
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - The Ethiopian government on Saturday pledged not to
leave a power vacuum when it completes its troop withdrawal from
neighbouring Somalia in the coming days.
"Necessary steps are being taken to avoid a vacuum and relapse of the former
situation of lawlessness," it said in a statement.
"Based on the agreements reached in Djibouti (in 2008), our defence forces
have started implementing the decision to withdraw by the end of 2008."
The statement said that the heads of the African Union mission to Somalia
(AMISOM), the military of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the
Ethiopian Defence Forces in Mogadishu had already met in Addis Ababa to
analyse the situation and work out plans to be carried out subsequently.
Ethiopia said Friday its military withdrawal from Somalia was under way and
would last several more days.
"We have already started to implement our withdrawal plan. It will take some
more days. It is a process and it will take some time," Bereket Simon,
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's spokesman, said.
Ethiopia invaded Somalia in 2006 to rescue an embattled transitional
administration and oust the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which had taken
control of most of the country and started imposing a strict form of Sharia.
"As it has been confirmed that both Uganda and Burundi are willing to
increase their forces in Somalia, Ethiopian Defence Forces are on the last
chapter of a successful withdrawal from Mogadishu," Saturday's statement
said.
"Based on this fact, all areas once patrolled by Ethiopian forces have been
transferred to AMISOM and TFG troops. The government is now implementing its
pledge to completely withdraw once the above mentioned is put in place."
"It is to be recalled that Ethiopian Defence Forces entered Somalia two
years ago after extremist forces waged 'jihad' and posed a substantial
threat to the sovereignty of our country," it added.
"The Ethiopian Defence Forces have already managed to diffuse this threat
and conclude their mission successfully... also sacrificed a lot during the
past two years in order to weaken the extremists and achieve lasting peace
in Somalia."
There are currently 3,600 Ugandan and Burundian African Union (AU)
peacekeepers in Somalia, but they are ill-equipped and under-funded and have
been unable to restore stability in Somalia.
Ethiopia's pullout was agreed upon by the Somali government and the more
moderate wing of the Islamist-led political opposition during UN-sponsored
reconciliation talks in Djibouti.
Ethiopia's continued presence in Somalia has been the main argument used by
Islamist insurgents and allied clan militias for their struggle.
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