Think-tank calls to involve Somali Islamists in political process
December 23, 2008 (NAIROBI) – A think-tank said to day that the announced withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia by the end of this month could open the door for a possible political process to end the Somali crisis.
In a report issued on Tuesday, “Somalia: To Move Beyond the Failed State”, the International Crisis Group (ICG) called for the involvement of the Islamist insurgents in any effort to settle the 17 year political crisis in the country since the collapse of Siad Barre government. The ICG underscored that withdrawal of Ethiopian troops could create a dynamism for a political solution.
“The announced withdrawal at year’s end of the Ethiopian army, which intervened in December 2006, opens a new period of uncertainty and risk but also provides a chance to launch an inclusive political process,” the ICG said.
Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia to support the western backed Somali transitional government and helped it to control the capital Mogadishu. However, the Islamist El Shebab movement controls now most of the country’s south.
The ICG stressed that the Islamist groups should take part in any comprehensive and practical solution “Despite the reluctance of the international community to engage with the Islamist opposition, there is no other practical course than to reach out to its leaders in an effort to stabilise the security situation with a ceasefire and then move on with a process that addresses the root causes,” the report said.
The Think-tank expressed doubts over the latest US move to promote the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in Somalia due to the lack of viable peace process there but also because no enough troops can be found for the mission.
The African peacekeepers (AMISOM), initially deployed to relieve the Ethiopian troops, are not able to fulfil their mission and prevent a power vacuum, warned the ICG.
After the start of the Ethiopian withdrawal, the Islamist insurgents have closed in on the capital Mogadishu after taking most of the country, leaving government and AU troops to control only a handful of locations.
Today the African Union extended the mission of the 3,400-strong force for two months. The AMISOM is due to expire at the end of the month.
More then 10,000 civilians have been killed during the two-year insurgency, a million people uprooted and a third of the population need emergency aid in a humanitarian crisis that has been described as one of the worst in the world.
(ST)