From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Jul 05 2010 - 16:44:34 EDT
Somali president pleads for help as insurgency rises
By AARON MAASHO
Posted Monday, July 5 2010 at 19:23
ADDIS ABABA, Monday
Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed pleaded for help today at a regional
summit, as an Al Qaeda-inspired insurgency closed in on his Mogadishu
palace.
Mr Sharif told a summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
(IGAD) in the Ethiopian capital that his war-torn country was "in the hands
of Al-Qaeda and extremist groups. The whole issue needs urgent treatment."
"I would like to tell you that Somalia is going through its most dangerous
phase in recent times and we are asking for intensified efforts in order to
set up an effective military strategy," he told leaders from the six-nation
bloc.
Igad leaders met for emergency talks in Addis Ababa in following intensified
clashes in Mogadishu between Islamist insurgents and Somali government
troops backed by the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Late on Sunday, the leader of the Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab militia, Mohamed
Abdi Godane, urged "the Somali people to unite to fight against the enemy of
Allah," in an audio message.
"We know that the people in Mogadishu were honoured with two previous
victories. They won the war against the Americans and the Ethiopians, and
the fight against Amisom will be the final victory by God's will," he said.
The United States withdrew its troops from Somalia after an ill-fated
mission in the early 1990s, while Ethiopia pulled out in early 2009
following a two-year invasion.
Sharif was appointed then and seen as Somalia's best chance in years but he
has failed to assert his authority and owes his survival largely to the
protection of AMISOM's Burundian and Ugandan troops.
The Igad meeting raised concern among some Mogadishu residents about the
possibility of a return of Ethiopian forces to back the government, whose
planned offensive against the Islamists since early 2010 failed to
materialise. "The word Igad is a reminder of the Ethiopian military
intervention for most Somalis," said Abdi Mohamud, a Mogadishu resident.
For Mohamud Samatar Abdi, Ethiopia's previous "bungled operation gave them a
a bad name in Somalia. They need to improve their tactics."
At the summit, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi called for more
regional cooperation to resolve the crisis.
"The recent security situation does not augur well. This, coupled with the
approaching end of the transitional period, calls for more serious work
within the existing time frame," he said in reference to the Somali
transitional government's mandate which expires next year.
"The Somalis, Igad, the AU and other stakeholders have to play their
respective roles in a proactive manner and help reverse the trend that isn't
encouraging," Meles added.
Around 40 people, mostly civilians were killed in heavy clashes in the
capital last week between the Shebab fighters and the AU-backed government
forces.
Godane blamed the Ugandan and Burundian AU troops for killing civilians and
warned the two countries.
"My message to the people of Uganda and Burundi is that you will be the
targets of retaliation for the massacre of women, children and elderly
Somalis in Mogadishu by your forces," the Shebab leader said.
"You will be held responsible for the killings your ignorant leaders and
your soldiers are committing in Somalia."
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