Ethiopian-trained militia enter Somali capital, spark fears
Sept 7, 2005 (MOGADISHU) — Heavily armed militiamen have entered the Somali provisional capital of Jowhar from neighbouring Ethiopia to back the embattled government of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, officials said Wednesday while fears of a fresh conflict mounted.
The militia arrived in Jowhar, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) north of the Mogadishu, overnight Tuesday from the the Ethiopian border town of Mustahili, where they were allegedly trained by the Addis Ababa army, Somali officials said.
Rival sides in the divided Somalia government confirmed the entry of the fighters from Ethiopia, but failed to agree their composition and purpose of the deployment.
The camp allied to influential parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and the powerful warlords who control Mogadishu claimed that the fighters backed Yusuf, who is supported by the Ethiopian government.
“Yusuf has endorsed actions that are treasonable. He is leading the occupation of his country by militiamen trained by a neighbouring country,” parliamentary spokesman Omar Hasi Aden told AFP in Mogadishu.
“The idea is to ignite fresh violence … Somalia is on the brink of renewed violence,” added Aden, a former colonel in the regime of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, whose 1991 ouster sparked chaos and a breakdown of central government in the Horn of Africa nation.
But Deputy Information Minister Salad Ali Jelle said the deployment was legitimate and part of efforts by the transitional government to form a national army.
Speaking from Jowhar, he said the Mogadishu-based warlords “are not happy to see a functional national army in Somalia to enforce law and order. They are sabotaging efforts to recruit the national army.”
Speaking in Nairobi on Monday, Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said the government had a right to recruit fighters who would be trained into a standing national army.
Meanwhile in Mogadishu, warlords and some MPs held talks to discuss the deployment in Jowhar, which they have described as an act of war.
The division in the Somali government stems from a decision in June by Yusuf and Gedi to relocate to Jowhar, while the warlords maintain the Mogadishu is the bona fide capital of Somalia and refuse to recognise and decision made by Yusuf’s team.
Both sides have traded accusations of plotting to attack each other, but without presenting evidence.
(AFP/ST)