Somali PM orders rebel ministers out
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Friday, 19 May 2006: 8.50 CET) – The transitional prime minister of Somalia has ordered members of an allegedly US-backed rebel alliance to leave Mogadishu, where they have been clashing with Islamic militants, news agencies reported.
Transitional prime minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has ordered four rebel leaders, who are also ministers in the cabinet, to leave the city within one week and relocate to the country’s transitional capital, Baidoa, the news agency reported on Thursday.
Gedi had threatened to fire the four ministers initially, but said he would postpone that decision until they met in Baidoa, Al-Jazeera reported.
Violence in Mogadishu has increased in the past weeks. On Thursday, a gun battle killed two people and wounded four others as fighting escalated between a secular alliance of warlords and Islamic militants.
On Wednesday, five people were killed in fighting in Mogadishu, a day after peace rallies following the death of 140 people. Demonstrators shouted anti-US slogans and accused Washington of backing warlords.
Earlier this month, at least 25 people were killed and 60 others injured in clashes between rival Somali militias in Mogadishu.
The four rebel ministers ordered out of Mogadishu include national security minister Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, commerce minister Musa Sudi Yalahow, religious affairs minister Omar Mohamud Mohmed, and militia rehabilitation minister Issa Ali Botan.
The four are members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism (ARPCT), which is fighting forces loyal to the city’s 11 Islamic courts.
The alliance accuses the Islamic Court Union of hiding al-Qaida leaders, while the Islamic Court Union says the alliance is little more than a puppet of Washington.
In late April, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf accused the US of funding the coalition of warlords.
The US State Department has said it supports the alliance's objective of rooting out terrorists, but maintains it has not violated the arms embargo on Somalia but has said it would work with those who can help "prevent Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists".
Clashes between the rival groups in March left up to 90 people dead as the rival alliances fight for control of the Mogadishu.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since clan-based warlords overthrew the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The transitional administration only controls a few cities.
Transitional prime minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has ordered four rebel leaders, who are also ministers in the cabinet, to leave the city within one week and relocate to the country’s transitional capital, Baidoa, the news agency reported on Thursday.
Gedi had threatened to fire the four ministers initially, but said he would postpone that decision until they met in Baidoa, Al-Jazeera reported.
Violence in Mogadishu has increased in the past weeks. On Thursday, a gun battle killed two people and wounded four others as fighting escalated between a secular alliance of warlords and Islamic militants.
On Wednesday, five people were killed in fighting in Mogadishu, a day after peace rallies following the death of 140 people. Demonstrators shouted anti-US slogans and accused Washington of backing warlords.
Earlier this month, at least 25 people were killed and 60 others injured in clashes between rival Somali militias in Mogadishu.
The four rebel ministers ordered out of Mogadishu include national security minister Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, commerce minister Musa Sudi Yalahow, religious affairs minister Omar Mohamud Mohmed, and militia rehabilitation minister Issa Ali Botan.
The four are members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism (ARPCT), which is fighting forces loyal to the city’s 11 Islamic courts.
The alliance accuses the Islamic Court Union of hiding al-Qaida leaders, while the Islamic Court Union says the alliance is little more than a puppet of Washington.
In late April, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf accused the US of funding the coalition of warlords.
The US State Department has said it supports the alliance's objective of rooting out terrorists, but maintains it has not violated the arms embargo on Somalia but has said it would work with those who can help "prevent Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists".
Clashes between the rival groups in March left up to 90 people dead as the rival alliances fight for control of the Mogadishu.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since clan-based warlords overthrew the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The transitional administration only controls a few cities.
posted by Marko at 5/19/2006 08:12:00 AM
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