From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Fri Jul 03 2009 - 23:34:38 EDT
Somalia Insurgents Reject AU Peacekeeping Proposals
By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
03 July 2009
Militants fighting to overthrow Somalia's U.N.-backed government have
condemned talks at the African Union summit in Libya, where African
leaders are considering giving the African Union peacekeeping mission in
Somalia a stronger mandate to pursue and fight the insurgents.
A spokesman for Somalia's al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group, Ali
Mohamed Rage warned Friday that any attempts to expand the current
mandate of the African Union peacekeeping mission, known as AMISOM,
would be met with violent resistance.
Rage says the summit in Libya is being held to change the mandate of
AMISOM troops, so that they can destroy more Somali homes and kill more
civilians.
The al-Shabab spokesman was alluding to charges made by Somalis and
international human rights groups, accusing AMISOM of sometimes firing
their weapons indiscriminately in response to insurgent attacks and
killing civilians. AMISOM has denied any wrongdoing.
Since Ethiopia ended its occupation of Somalia in January, al-Shabab has
focused its guerrilla war on AMISOM and the Somali government under
moderate Islamist leader Sharif Sheik Ahmed. Al-Shabab and another
militant group called Hisbul Islam have rejected President Sharif's call
for reconciliation and have vowed to overthrow the government.
Since early May, near-daily fighting between government forces and
rebels in Mogadishu has killed more than 300 people and has uprooted
more than 170,000. Last month, the government urged neighboring
countries to send troops to Somalia to defend against Somali extremists
and foreign allies pouring into the country.
Somalia's deteriorating security situation topped the agenda during a
three-day African Union summit in Libya that began on Wednesday.
On the sidelines of the summit on Thursday, Somali Foreign Minister
Mohamed Abdullahi Omar told the Reuters news agency that several more
battalions of AMISOM troops are likely to be deployed in Mogadishu and
that AMISOM's rules of engagement may be changed to allow the troops to
do more than defend against insurgent attacks.
AMISOM was created to help Somalia's secular transitional government
stabilize the country after Ethiopia ousted the country's ruling Islamic
Courts Union in December, 2006. The mission's mandate was limited to
guarding key sites in the capital and providing local humanitarian aid
and support.
The African Union planned to have a force about 8,000 troops. But a
prolonged Islamist-led insurgency in Mogadishu and a chronic lack of
funding have kept several African countries from fulfilling their pledge
to contribute troops.
The mission currently has about 4,300 troops from Uganda and Burundi,
who are largely confined to their bases near the airport, seaport, and
the presidential palace.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-03-voa37.cfm
Islamic fighters shoot towards Somali government forces during clashes,
in the capital Mogadishu, 03 Jul 2009
<http://www.voanews.com/english/images/ap_somalia_insurgents_fighting_21
0_03Jul09.jpg>
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