Worst of Somaliland drought is over
afrol News, 16 February - After more than three years of drought in eastern Somaliland, abundant and well distributed winter rains have led to excellent harvests. The region however still has to recover from the long drought and an estimated 500,000 people in Somaliland and Somalia remain in a state of food crisis.

According to the latest report on food security in Somalia and Somaliland by the agency Food Security Analysis Unit Somalia (FSAU), the "exceptionally good 2004/05 Deyr rains" have led to above average cereal production in most cropping areas. The Deyr rains are annual short rains between November and January that are of great importance to agriculture and livestock in the dry Horn region.

In Somaliland and neighbouring northern Somalia, the 2004/05 Deyr rains had ended the more than three year drought cycle in the region, FSAU says. In Somaliland, especially the troubled eastern Sool and Sanaag provinces - which are partly occupied by Somalia - had been hardest hit, but also the central Todgheer province in 2004 started to note the effects of the long drought.

Cumulative rainfall during this Deyr season had been 160 to 300 percent more than the normal rainfall performance in Somaliland and much of Somalia. Satellite photos had shown that the current vegetation cover is denser than usually at this time of year. The above normal rains had renewed the crippled pasture and water sources in pastoral and agricultural areas throughout the country. This was especially needed in Sool and Sanaag, where water sources for humans and livestock had dried up.

In Somaliland, two harvests are now above average. The Karan 2004 cereal production harvest, in December 2004, in the western, less drought-affected agro-pastoral provinces of Awdal, Galbeed and Togdheer had also been good. Harvests here were estimated at 17,100 metric tonnes, which is 117 percent of the post-war average, according to the FSAU report. Further, the post-Deyr harvests are set to be above average.

However, an estimated 500,000 people in Somalia and Somaliland "still remain in a state of humanitarian emergency or livelihood crisis," according to the definitions used in the FSAU report. These groups were said to "require immediate humanitarian assistance in the form of resource transfers and livelihood support," the report added.

The continued need for livelihood support in Somaliland and northern Somalia was due to the multiple shocks in this region. Eastern Somaliland had been victim to drought, freezing rains and armed conflict. Northern Somalia additionally had been locally hit by the December tsunami and flooding.

Combined with the extent of environmental degradation, cumulative livestock deaths, high levels of indebtedness and widespread destitution, this would lead to "a considerable lag time before most pastoralists will begin to recover." How long it would take for these pastoralists to recover and who would be able to recover, would "largely depend on the outcome of the 2005-2006 Gu and Deyr seasons," the FSAU report said.

The number of people requiring immediate humanitarian assistance was however starting to drop slowly in Somaliland and northern Somalia. In mid-2004, there were an estimated 58,000 people in a state of humanitarian emergency and 160,000 persons in a state of livelihood crisis in eastern Somaliland. The estimates after the Deyr rains have dropped to 52,000 and 115,000 respectively.

For the livestock trade, Somaliland's principal export, the crisis however seems to have ended with more permanent damages. The number of sheep and goats exported in 2004 is similar to that of 2003, but remains far below the numbers exported prior to the livestock ban of 1998, following an animal outbreak.

A new shift in export patterns is further set to concern Somaliland authorities. In 2005, Bosasso port exported the bulk of animals from Somalia and Somaliland, which is a shift from the pre-livestock ban time when Berbera was the main port of export. Bosasso is located in the Puntland region of Somalia - which occupies parts of the Sool and Sanaag provinces - while Berbera is Somaliland's main port.




By staff writer

? afrol News

San Diego judge says prosecutors can raise terrorism in immigration case
Posted on Wed, Feb. 16, 2005

Associated Press


SAN DIEGO - In a victory for the United States government, a federal judge in San Diego has ruled that prosecutors can mention terrorism to a jury hearing the case of a Somali national charged with lying to naturalization agents about his connection to two charities that have been linked to terrorist groups.

U.S. District Judge John Houston reversed himself Tuesday for the second time in the immigration case against Omar Abdi Mohamed, president of the San Diego-based Western Somali Relief Agency.

Prosecutors said the Western Somali Relief Agency accepted $5,000 between 1998 and 2001 from the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which was accused of financing Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. The San Diego group also accepted more than $326,000 from the Bridgeview, Ill.-based Global Relief Foundation, which is suspected of raising money for terrorists, they said.

Mohamed has no ties to terrorism and used the money for famine relief in Ethiopia and Somalia, his attorney, Mahir Sherif, had said before a gag order was imposed.

Judge Houston ruled the charities are material to the case because they could indicate that Mohamed had a motive to lie in order to gain citizenship in the United States.

He had previously ruled that the trial was not about terrorism, and mentioning the charities would prejudice the jury.

Mohamed's trial is scheduled to begin March 21.

If convicted, he could face five years in prison for each of nine counts and be deported.

---

Information from: The San Diego Union-Tribune

Nile is The Source of Somalia Root Crisis


Dr.Abdullahi Mohamed (Deputy Editor Geeka Afrika Online)
Djibouti (HAN) February 17, 2005


Nile is the Source of Somalia Root Crisis



Ali Mahdi and Husein Aideed with President of Egypt

HAN Interview: Hussein Aideed Rejected Somali Gov To Join Arab League
& Islamic States (Link...)


Nile is The Source of Somalia Root Crisis
Djibouti (HAN) February 17, 2005- Ethiopia has agreed to take part in a regional peace force to help Somalia's transitional government relocate from exile in Kenya to Mogadishu, Information Minister Simon Berekat said Monday. "We have decided to participate in the peacekeeping force of IGAD in Somalia," Berekat told AFP. "We will contribute in every aspect to the force." "We will discuss the implementation of this decision in the near future," he said, refusing to elaborate on details of Addis Ababa's contribution.


In this respect, an acute observer of the Egyptian scene recently wrote: "Egypt is a country that has not abandoned its expansionist ambitions. It regards its southern neighbors as its sphere of influence. Its strategy is essentially negative: to prevent the emergence of any force that could challenge its hegemony, and to thwart any economic development along the banks of the Nile that could either divert the flow of the water, or decrease its volume. The arithmetic of the waters of the Blue Nile River is, therefore, a zero-sum game that Egypt is determined to win. It must have a hegemonic relationship with the countries of the Nile Valley and the Horn of Africa. When, for instance, Ethiopia is weak and internally divided, Egypt can rest. But when Ethiopia is prosperous and self-confident, playing a leading role in the region, Egypt is worried.

In response, Marawan Badr, the Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia wrote:

"Such political commentary, or more correctly, political trash, cannot come [except] from a sick and disturbed mind. Egyptian-Ethiopian relations are not in a crisis. We do not even have problems. There are serious issues, which need to be addressed.

Diplomatic evasiveness aside, one cannot claim that there is no crisis in the relations between the two countries. If the Blue Nile is the backbone of Egypt and equally crucial to Ethiopia's development, and if no less a person than Sadat declared that Egypt will go to war to prevent any tampering with the waters of the Blue Nile, how could one say that there are no problems between Ethiopia and Egypt? Given this background, let us raise some basic questions: why have not the two countries exploited the potential of the river for mutual benefit? Apart from fears stoked by misinformed nationalism on both sides, are there other problems that prevent them from doing so? How did Egypt manage to "guarantee" the normal flow of the waters of the Blue Nile?

The renowned historian and an authority on the river Nile, Professor Kinfe Abraham, said on Thursday that it was grossly unfair for Ethiopia not to receive international support to enable it to exploit the Nile for its development purposes.

In an exclusive interview with Addis Tribune Professor Kinfe said, "Ethiopia is the source of the Nile. Eighty-six percent of the water of the Nile originates in Ethiopia. The Blue Nile is the paramount contributor to the Nile. While Ethiopia is the source there is zero allocation to Ethiopia and that is not only unjust ethically but politically wrong."

Professor Kinfe said that Ethiopia was facing demographic pressures and the frequency of the occurrence of drought had intensified "so much so that the country relies heavily on external assistance and Ethiopia cannot continuously live on aid hand out. A solution has to be found and that solution is surely possible when and if Ethiopia can utilize its water resources capacity optimally. That is why, I think, we need to work hard to persuade our partners to come to an understanding on water allocation the military option is simply destructive .It will not deliver anything."

Asked what he thought about a recent statement by the former UN secretary general Boutos Ghali that military confrontation between the countries of the Nile Basin was almost inevitable, Professor Kinfe said, " what the former secretary-general of the UN said is not new. He said it in the past and other experts have also said that the next conflict flash point will be based on water.

The reason for that is that water is a scarce commodity and as population grows water consumption per capita is likely to go up both because of the demography and also because of modernization. I would not be as categorical as Boutos Ghali or some of the other water specialists that military confrontation between the countries of the Nile Basin would be inevitable. Conflict and confrontation will not do the job. I think it is consideration of one another's needs in a rational way that is the best way out " .Professor Kinfe Abraham is the President of the Ethiopian International Institute for Peace and Development

.

Ethiopian and Iran are Broader Ties favored To Spread Shii'a Islamic Principle in Ethiopia


Addis Ababa (HAN) February 17, 2005, Iran's President Mohammad Khatami received visiting Ethiopian Minister of Finance and Economic Development Ahmed Sufian on Monday.

During the meeting, Khatami pointed to historical commonalities between the two countries and Ethiopia's social and economic conditions, praising peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims in that country, IRNA reported.

Referring to the sensitive status of Ethiopia in the African continent, Khatami expressed Iran's readiness to further expand all-out relations with Ethiopia on the basis of mutual respect.

The Ethiopian Minister, for his part, stressed the need for consolidating Tehran-Addis Ababa relations, particularly in cultural and agricultural fields.

Sufian called for sharing expertise with Iran on resource management and resolution of economic difficulties.


HAN Interview: Hussein Aideed Rejected Somali Gov To Join Arab League
& Islamic States
Hussein Aideed Rejected Somali Gov To Join Arab League before 4 years with HAN interview.
Hussein Aideed Rejected Somali Gov., in 1972 To Join Arab League "Our struggle is not an Arab struggle. We reject the previous government's decision to make Somalia and Arab Country. When in "1972" Somalia joined the Arab league, it did so without the consent of the Somali People",

Aideed Said Somalia SRRC factions met in Awasssa, Ethiopia for 45 days. They elected Hussein Aideed as Chairman of the Newly Somalia Council- as an ad-hoc committee charged with the task of organizing a constitutional conference to be held inside Somalia within 6 months.

The Horn of Africa Newsline special Reporter in Ethiopia had the opportunity of conducting an interview with Mr. Aideed.

The Horn Africa New Reporter: Mr. Aideed, what is the situation like in Somalia today?

Aideed: The situation in Somalia today is hopeful. it is our objective to have a national reconciliation conference inside Somalia in 6 Month's time. The conference, which will bring all the somali factions, will be entrusted with the task of writing a constitution for All Somalia. Somalis has never had a democratic institution or a constitutional government where all Somalis lived in equality and their human rights safeguarded under the law. We appeal to the OAU, UN, EU and Arab League and friendly countries to help rebuild Somalia which went through untold sufferings for years.

The HAN: Mr. Aideed what kind of government do you forsess for Somalia?

Aideed: The Somali People want a democratic elected government on basis of one-man-one -vote. To achieve this objective, all Somalis irrespective of their tribal affiliation, must come together and rally behind the noble idea of unity. The kind of administration we opt for is federalism.-prerequisite for laying a strong founation for future Somalia.

This way the country will be able to develop and protect itself fom terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism which for the last 40 years have been trying to penetrate into the area from the Read Sea, Persian Gulf, and Arab Countries to establish an Islamic State in East Africa, and Somalia is one of the countries they have chosen for the purpose.

In the Absence of any political stablility in somalia, the Islamic Fundamentalists such as the Al-Itihad Al-Islamia, Al-Islah, Al-Ikhwan, Al-Jamaa and Al-Tafkir have managed to bring into the country exiled former Somali leaders, such as Abdi Kassim and Ali Khalif Glaydh, who are bent on mixing state afffairs with religion. The is unacceptable to the Somali people. Our struggle is an African struggle. Our struggle is not an Arab struggle. We reject the previous government's decision to make Somalia and Arab Country. When in "1972" Somalia joined the Arab league, it did so without the consent of the Somali People.

The HAN: Are you now in a position to ward off the threat of Fundamental Islamism?

Aideed: The Somali people are ready to pay any price to safeguard their culture and freedom. It is upto the somali people to choose a government or an administration that suits them best and foreign polcy based on partnership wit their brothers and neighbours, particularly with Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. With The Ethiopia, we share the longest border, We have a very large Somalia population living accross our common borders(5 Million Somalis -Somali Regional State). We want to build a Somalia that is different from the Somalia of old times.

We have been trying to rebuild Somalia from within. Any government imposed on us from outside is unacceptable to the "Somali People". More so when such a government is Islamic. The Somali people have culture of their own and "they will never accept and Islamic State".

The HAN: What would you say about theSomali Leaders elected at ARTA, Djibouti, last Year -2000?

Aideed: Arta did not produce any real leaders. Ali khalif is from the North and in the North there is EGAL. To say Ali Khalif is the Prime Minister of Somalia is a Joke and an insult to the Somali People. While Minister in the Siad barre's government, he stole USD 12 Million from Mareere Suger Project in Kismayo in 1982.

He is a man who has built a Somali-telecom-empire in Dubai- With the Stolen money. As for Abdi Kassim, he was responsible for the destruction of 42 wells in the Central Region when he was interior Minister in Siad's government. He was opposing USC struggle and infect worked with UNISOM against the late General Aideed.

So acceptimg these people as a leaders is another crazy joke. Our struggle is to have a democratically elected government.

The HAN: Mr. Aideed, how would you describe Ethiopia's role in bringing about peace in Somalia?

Aideed: Ethiopia has been plying a very constructive role to reconcile the somali Factions. Ethiopia has allowed all somali factions to meet in Awassa, where we discussed the future of Somalia.

We appeal to our brother Egal and Arta Group in Mogadicio to join us as a Group in our endeavours to find a solution to our common problems.

Somali bomb kills one in apparent anti-African Union attack
Thu February 17, 2005 10:52 AM GMT+02:00
By Mohamed Ali Bile

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A bomb blast killed one person and wounded six in Mogadishu on Thursday in what appeared to be a failed attack on African Union (AU) experts preparing a peace mission to Somalia, witnesses and officials said.

The explosion went off outside the former ministry of foreign affairs minutes after a visiting AU fact-finding team passed by on its way to a nearby airstrip, witnesses said.

The blast was caused by an explosive device attached to a motorbike parked by the side of a street in the K5 district of the ruined coastal city, witnesses said.

"This was a clear attempted attack on the AU delegation," a senior Somali official said.

Bomb explosions are relatively rare in Mogadishu but clan skirmishes are common. There has been a string of assassinations of former soldiers and policemen in recent months by unidentified gunmen and visiting BBC producer Kate Peyton was shot dead in an unsolved attack in Mogadishu on Feb 9.

Shattered glass and debris and the broken chassis of the motorcycle lay on the dusty street, normally a busy, chaotic thoroughfare lined with hawkers, money-changers, stalls selling the stimulant leaf qat, pickup trucks carrying gunmen as well as wandering goats and cattle.

A new Somali government still based in Kenya where it was formed at peace talks has asked the African Union and Arab League to supply 7,500 peacekeepers to help disarm militiamen roaming the capital, though no decision on size has been made.

An AU team has been visiting Mogadishu in recent days to prepare for the deployment and it was due to fly out later on Thursday for another part of the country.

The so-called Transitional Federal Government was formed last year in the safety of Nairobi, tasked with bringing order to a country torn apart by 14 years of strife between rival clan-based warlords.

Two killed in Somalia blast
Thursday 17 February 2005, 14:13 Makka Time, 11:13 GMT
The country is torn apart by strife between rival commanders
Related:
Somalis protest against AU mission
BBC journalist shot dead in Somalia
Somali chief: Attack peacekeepers
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An explosion has killed two people and wounded six in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, diplomats based in neighbouring Kenya said.


According to witnesses, the blast on Thursday was caused by a bomb that exploded near a hotel in southern Mogadishu where an African Union (AU) team was staying.

Witnesses said all the victims were Somali civilians, but Mogadishu governor Abdullahi Ganey told reporters he believed the bomb had been intended for the AU team, which has been looking at security and logistics for the peacekeepers.

"I assume the bomb was targeting the AU mission, but still we shall investigate who was behind this attack," he said.

The AU delegation, which left the capital on a previously scheduled visit to the northern town of Jowhar shortly after the explosion, had been due to pass by the site of the bombing.

The team had arrived in the country on Monday after the pan-African organisation authorised the deployment of peacekeepers to help Somalia's transitional government relocate from exile in Nairobi to Mogadishu.

Previous assassinations

There has been a series of assassinations of former soldiers and police officers in recent months by unidentified armed men. Visiting BBC producer Kate Peyton was shot dead in an unsolved attack in Mogadishu on 9 February.

"I assume the bomb was targeting the AU mission, but still we shall investigate who was behind this attack"

Abdullahi Ganey,
Mogadishu governor

A new Somali government still based in Kenya where it was formed at peace talks has asked the African Union and Arab League to supply 7500 peacekeepers to help disarm militiamen roaming the capital, though no decision on size has been made.

The Transitional Federal Government was formed last year in the safety of Nairobi, tasked with bringing order to a country torn apart by 14 years of strife between rival clan-based regional commanders.


Agencies

Somalia's struggle against glorified guns
By Joseph Winter
BBC News



Farah lives in exile in Cape Town
The latest book by world renowned Somali author Nuruddin Farah is a gripping account of the dangers and insanity of life in Mogadishu after 14 years of anarchy.

Links, which is being published in the UK next week, is the story of Jeebleh, a Somali who returns to Mogadishu for the first time after living in the United States for 20 years.

He finds a city destroyed by civil war, in the grip of collective madness, where normal human compassion is only extended to members of the same clan.

Walking the streets, he finds a large crowd looking at a man who has collapsed after having an epileptic seizure.

"Why do you need to know his clan family before you help him? You make me sick, all of you," he shouts.

Despite his gloomy account of life in the Somali capital, Mr Farah told the BBC News website that Somalia's exiled government should return to Mogadishu as soon as possible and not wait for foreign peacekeepers.

"Many of them have not been back for a long time. It's a lot easier place than many assume," he said.

Hope and death

Like Jeebleh and the government, Mr Farah lives in exile but he goes back twice a year and says he feels safer in Mogadishu than in Nairobi - where the government is based - or Johannesburg.


Mogadishu is in ruins - looters tried to steal this oil drum
He says that as a Somali, he understands the "code" to survive in Mogadishu, which would also hold for the government.

If there is fighting, you just avoid that area, he says. "You can be hit by a stray bullet but that could also happen in New York."

In the novel, Jeebleh returns home for two main reasons - to rebury his mother, who died while he was in the US, and because Raasta, the daughter of a close friend, has been kidnapped.

As you would expect a story about Mogadishu, which remains divided between several rival warlords and their gunmen, death is a constant theme.

"[A] Somalia proverb has it that the shoes of a dead man are more useful than he is," Jeebleh says.

His mission is to let his mother rest in peace - which has been denied to so many victims of Somalia's 14-year civil war.

The glorification of the gun in the hands of an African peacekeeper is not what we need now

Nuruddin Farah
Jeebleh is shocked to see so many vultures circling for freshly-killed bodies.

In the midst of all the death and destruction, Raasta has a mysterious ability to bring calm and tranquillity to those around her and has built up quite a following among the many Somali refugees who have flocked to the capital.

This young girl symbolises Somalia's hopes for a peaceful future and the novel ends with Jeebleh's dramatic attempt to recover her from the gunmen's clutches.



'Glorified gun'

Despite his disappointment about the government's reluctance to go home without the backing of peacekeepers, Mr Farah says he remains optimistic.


Facts and figures about life in Somalia


At-a-glance

He said the huge, cheering crowds who turned out to welcome the first government delegation to visit Mogadishu shows the goodwill of the Somali people towards President Abdullahi Yusuf's team.

"Some people lack the courage or the conviction that they can go back and rebuild Somalia. If they don't, it would be a tragedy for Somalia," he said.

Links has many references to the disastrous US intervention in Somalia in the early 1990s, which is remembered in the west for the image of US troops being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by gunmen.

But Mr Farah spells out why many Somalis celebrated when the US troops left, even though they had arrived as saviours, safeguarding food aid deliveries during a drought.

"They used overwhelming force in such an indiscriminate fashion and lots of innocent Somalis died," says Raasta's mother, Shanta.

"[They] saw everything in black and white, had no understanding of and no respect for other cultures. They were also let down by their intelligence services," says Seamus, an Irishman who flees Belfast for Mogadishu.


Many Somalis back Mr Farah's opposition to foreign troops
The book was written before the invasion of Iraq and Mr Farah says that many of the problems the US troops encountered there could have been avoided if the lessons had been learnt from their experience in Somalia.

He says that many of Somalia's current problems stem from the militarization of Mogadishu during the US intervention.

"The glorification of the gun in the hands of an African peacekeeper is not what we need now," he says. "What we need is for Mogadishu to be emptied of guns."

Mr Farah says that any money raised for peacekeepers would be far better spent on rebuilding Somalia's shattered schools and hospitals.

Somali cabinet may not meet deadline for move

February 15 2005 at 04:18PM

By Otto Bakano

Nairobi - Somalia's transitional Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi hinted on Tuesday that his government-in-exile might not meet a planned target date next week to begin relocating to the war-shattered nation.

Gedi, who last week had said the government would begin moving from Nairobi to the lawless Somali capital of Mogadishu on February 21, said it needed first to hear from three more cabinet-level fact-finding missions.

He said the new missions, which will come on top of two earlier visits to assess security in Mogadishu, would depart for Somalia on Wednesday but would not be able to prepare reports until later in the month.

"We will receive their findings and recommendations and before the end of this month we will start the process of relocation of the government," Gedi told reporters after meeting Kenyan Foreign Minister Ali Chirau Mwakwere.

But he did not repeat the February 21 target date.

The earlier missions - made up of Somali lawmakers and ministers - were greeted warmly in Mogadishu but security fears soared last week after the murder of a western journalist in the capital.

In addition, thousands of Somalis took to the streets of Mogadishu on Monday to protest at the composition of a planned African Union-authorised regional peacekeeping force intended to help the government establish itself.

The demonstration took place just hours before a 14-member African Union security assessment team arrived in Mogadishu on a 10-to-12 day visit to study logistics for the deployment.

Three thousand demonstrators expressed their adament opposition to the inclusion of troops from Ethiopia, Djibouti, and, to a lesser degree, Kenya, in the force which initially is to be run by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an east African grouping.

Many Somalis accuse Ethiopia in particular of fomenting instability in their country and have demanded that any force exclude Ethiopian troops. Others, including some hardline Islamists, are opposed to any foreign troops.

Gedi, however, declined to comment on the controversy, noting that the transitional government had requested troops from the African Union and Arab League for support.

"We are not interested in reacting to allegations," he said. "My government has requested the African Union force and the League of Arab States and they have responded to our request to deploy forces for stabilisation and the peace support mission to Somalia."

In addition to the controversy over the force, Gedi has stressed that the speed with which the government moves to Somalia would depend heavily on outside assistance that to date has not been forthcoming.

The relocation plan includes an initial six-month budget of about $77.3-million for relocation and logistics, creating administrative offices, disarming and demobilising militias and setting up a police force.

Of that, only about $8-million had been contributed by donors as of February 9, according to the transitional government.

Somalia was plunged into chaos after the fall of President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Gedi's transitional government was set up in October in a bid to restore a functioning central government in the war-wracked nation.

But the administration - including a president, government and parliament - have remained in exile in Kenya since for security reasons. - Sapa-AFP

Chaos as Somalia's leader-in-exile returns

By Benjamin Joffe-Walt
Age correspondent
Nairobi
February 17, 2005

Somalia's President-in-exile is in a difficult position. His Government has no buildings, no army, no budget. His country has been without a government for 14 years, and as its leader he can't even enter it - the capital is too dangerous.

This is what President Abdullahi Yusuf has to work with, but many say he is the only hope for Somalia.

In 1991, militias joined forces to oust dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Somalia has since been ruled by warring militias that have divided the country into small contested territories.

The President has lived in exile in Kenya since he was elected last year, but despite calls for war from militia leaders and with little foreign aide or military support Mr Yusuf is making bold claims of returning to his anarchic country within weeks.

His Government is scheduled to begin the return to Mogadishu on Monday.

There are already some positive signs. Early this month a delegation from the new Government succeeded in getting warlords to hand over the presidential palace, the Mogadishu port and some government buildings.

Advertisement
AdvertisementBut last week a Government delegation was shot at and BBC journalist Kate Peyton was killed a few hours after arriving in Mogadishu. A Muslim cleric reportedly threatened any foreigner entering the city, there were rumours of $US5000 ($A6400) rewards for anyone who kills a white person and the new Housing Minister, Osman Ali Ato, called for war if Mr Yusuf used foreign troops to retake Mogadishu.

Somalis have long been opposed to foreign intervention and the new Government is already divided over whether foreign African troops are needed. The last intervention, in the 1990s, ended in an embarrassing withdrawal of United Nations troops led by the US.

Militia and government leaders are furious that neighbouring Ethiopia, seen by many Somalis as trying to control their country, is to be among the peacekeeping forces. Last week, Mr Ato said that the presence of Ethiopian soldiers on Somali soil would mean war: "I urge all Somali people to prepare to fight against our enemies, be they Ethiopians or Somalis," he said.

But Mr Yusuf told The Age: "We have no reason to be afraid of our neighbours. They organised the peace process and they are the godfathers of this Government."

Accused by his adversaries of being overly friendly with Ethiopia, Mr Yusuf said: "We need international help. We don't have proper police, military or security forces. Without international support our job will be difficult; everyone knows that."

Many observers agree. Somalia is a haven for international crime syndicates and terrorists (al-Qaeda is being hunted by the US in northern Somalia). Mr Yusuf is sure to face significant resistance to governance of any kind, and with more than 50,000 well-armed militia members in the country and some warlords gearing up for battle, the new Government may have little chance of success without significant military help from other African nations.

Mr Yusuf originally requested 15,000 troops from the 53-nation African Union to help regain control of his country, but so far has only 2000.

Many think he has a rosy vision of his return to Mogadishu, a city marred by factional violence for almost two decades.

The International Crisis Group warned this week that troops from Somalia's neighbours should not be included in the peacekeeping force as this would aggravate an already volatile situation.

Five East African nations each agreed in principle to deploy troops in Somalia. But to date only Uganda has actually pledged troops.

The new Somali Government asked for more than $US77 million to aid its relocation, but donors have yet to give even an eighth of that.

Some Somali leaders say Mr Yusuf is a poor negotiator and too militaristic to bring peace. Known even by his advisers as "a dangerous man", he has a reputation as a brutal leader.

"Over 90 per cent of the Somali population wants peace," the former army colonel said.

"Those who are refusing are bad people, and we don't listen to them."

Even with foreign troops protecting him his safety is in question. "We need a presidential security force, but I am sure that nothing will happen to me," said Mr Yusuf, whose residence was attacked a few months ago.

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'There are no laws. We are in a country where no one can control anyone else'
Filed: 13/02/2005)

Benjamin Joffe-Walt took about 10 minutes to become a `citizen' of lawless Somalia. He reports from Bosaso.



A Sign painted on a weatherbeaten building near the port of Bosaso declares it to be Baaba and Maama Children's Toyshop. Inside are toy guns, grenades and plastic machetes - and, at the back, a man selling Somali passports.

Not just passports, but the whole panoply of official documents can be obtained here: birth certificates, work permits and visas for neighbouring Kenya, Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. Somalia is a country without an operational government, and one of the state's functions - the issuing of "official" documents - has been usurped by a flourishing private sector. Even senior dignitaries and local worthies use the vendors, who will sell to anyone.

"You are Somali?" asks the passport-maker, a tall, scrawny figure, with amused scepticism. Not yet, he is told, but with his help, soon. "OK," he answers with a long chuckle, and produces an array of stamps. About 10 minutes, $35 (#19) and a lot of stamping later, an apparently flawless rendition of a passport is produced for Somalia's newest "citizen".

The ease with which Somali documents can be obtained by people with no right to them is a real problem for the rest of the world. Last year a group of Kenyan migrants bought Somali passports and went to Denmark to claim asylum. They were detected and sent back, but the incident drew renewed attention to the danger of a country with nobody in charge.

Somalia's last effective central government fell 14 years ago, since when the land has been fought over by warlords. The country is leaderless, a machine-gun the only respected authority, and the capital, Mogadishu, is in complete disorder.

The international airport is a fiasco with five makeshift airstrips, one for each of the warring clans that control the capital. The control tower is the second storey of a tiny office building, empty apart from spare aircraft tyres and dozens of barrels of fuel. One match would be enough to blow the place up.

Last year the main warlords and politicians agreed to set up a new parliament. That in turn elected a president, Abdullahi Yusuf, but instability and fighting have made it too dangerous for him to come home. Now he promises to return from exile later this month, and has requested up to 20,000 African Union troops to help him.

While most Somalis, especially outside the capital, say that they want a central government again, few expect it to work. "Mogadishu people think that they don't need a government," said one fruit-seller in Bosasu, 600 miles to the north. "The President can never return, never."

Weapons are freely available. Each town has its own gun market where anyone with $200 (#110) can buy an AK47. "There are no laws," says Abdi Nasser, a driver. "We are in a country where no one can control anyone else. People here fight every hour, it's a regular thing."

President Yusuf says that, with help from the African Union, he will develop police and military forces. Few believe, however, that any force will be able to control the estimated 50,000 militiamen around the country, led by warlords with no interest in disarmament.

The memory of the American troops killed in 1993, as depicted in the film, Black Hawk Down, is strong.

"If the government return they'll completely lose control," said Asha Gelle, a regional parliamentarian. "The leaders are already organising their militias against foreign soldiers. They say they'll receive African Union troops in the same way as they received the Americans."

Because of the fighting, most of the country is insecure. There are no good hospitals, no social services, no system of property. The currency is so devalued that it is a struggle to hold the 1,000-shilling notes equivalent to #10 - 25,000 shillings.

"No one owns anything," says Abda Azziz, a port worker. "Your land is your land until someone takes it from you, your car your car until it is stolen - that is the law in this country."

In almost the only attempt at law enforcement, Mohammed Said Farrah and his colleagues carry stubby steel batons and red "stop" signs as they try to control the traffic.

Does he use his baton to hit the cars? "No," he replies. "It's to protect me from the drivers. They could kill me, and we have no government - so who would stop them?"

Joffe-Walt has been short-listed for Young Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards. He was recently named Foreign Press Association Young Journalist of the Year
10 February 2005: BBC producer shot dead in Somalia after fatwa issued
28 December 2004: Hundreds of Somalis die 3,000 miles away



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